• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.367-377
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• 2021

Objectives: Taxi drivers are exposed to various hazards, such as long periods of sedentary work and traffic-related air pollutants. However, studies on the health effects among taxi drivers in South Korea are insufficient. Methods: To assess subclinical hematologic change related to cardiovascular disease among male taxi drivers, we analyzed data from the second Korean National Environmental Health Survey. Fifty-nine taxi drivers and 1,912 controls were included in the analysis. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for age, body mass index, and urinary cotinine. A total of 295 subjects were matched with 59 taxi drivers. Leukocyte count, platelet count, hematocrit, triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol land total IgE of the taxi drivers were compared with the control groups. Results: Taxi drivers showed significantly elevated blood leukocytes and platelets. Serum total IgE was significantly reduced in taxi drivers. However, blood leukocytes, platelets, and serum total IgE were not significantly correlated with work period among taxi drivers. Conclusions: Regarding the change of the blood leukocyte count, platelet count, and serum total IgE, taxi driving has the possibility to be associated with peripheral inflammation, humoral immunity and cardiovascular risk.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.208-212
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• 2024

Background: Traffic accidents involving professional drivers have serious societal repercussions. Unique occupational stressors and health risks exacerbate the likelihood of traffic accidents among professional drivers. This study explores the association between presenteeism-impaired work performance due to working while unwell-and traffic accident risk among professional taxi drivers in Japan. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted from June 2022 to February 2023, involving taxi drivers from a single company in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Presenteeism was assessed using the Work Functioning Impairment Scale (WFun). Primary outcome involved the number of self-reported minor traffic accidents. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of minor traffic accident occurrences was estimated using a Poisson regression analysis, adjusted for confounders including sex, age, and driving experience. Results: Of 838 targeted drivers, 435 were included in the analysis. Higher baseline work functioning impairment was associated with a significant trend of increasing IRR of minor traffic accidents (p for trend = 0.045). A dose-response relationship was seen between the degree of presenteeism and incidence rate of minor traffic accidents. Conclusion: Higher levels of presenteeism were associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents among taxi drivers. The findings underscore the need for socio-economic support and prioritized health management to mitigate traffic accident risk among professional drivers. This study highlights the importance of managing non-critical health issues alongside serious health conditions for safer driving practices among professional drivers in Japan.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.124-136
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• 1999

This paper investigated the symptoms of taxi drivers' physical self-consciousness. As the subjects for the study, 374 taxi drivers participated in the survey for three months, and its result showed as follows:1. In the items of the physical symptoms, the eye's fatigue was indicated as a greatest complaint, and the corporate-taxi drivers showed a higher complaint rate than the owner-taxi drivers. 2. The survey also indicated that taxi drivers over 50 years old showed the highest complaining rate of eye's fatigue, shoulder pain, loins pain, and severe headache. Feelings of burning on empty stomach was the highest complaint factor in the age group between 30 and 39 years old, and pain and burning feelings in eyes in the age group between 20 and 29 years old.3. In the study of the complaining rate of physical symptoms by working hours, the nighttime driers complained of their self-consciousness symptoms of leg and knee pain, shoulder pain, benumbed legs, and these drivers also showed a relatively high complaint rate resulting from the responsibility of living expenses.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.319-323
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• 1999

This study was designed to evaluate the exposure to benzene by residents in neighborhoods near a major roadways, by persons waiting buses, and by drivers and service station attendants while refueling. It was confirmed that the outdoor air benzene concentrations near the major roadways were higher than those further away from the sources. However, neither the indoor air nor breath concentrations were different for two specified residential areas. Smoking was confirmed as an important factor for the indoor air benzene levels. Persons waiting buses, drivers and service station attendants were exposed to elevated benzene levels compared to even the residents in neighborhoods near a major roadways. The mean benzene concentration at bus stop was 2.7 to 6.9 times higher than the mean ambient air concentration. The mean benzene concentrations in the breathing zone of drivers and service station attendants were 95 to 160 and 120 to 202 times higher than the mean ambient air concentrations, respectively.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.9-16
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• 1991

Personal NO$_{2}$ expousre and time activity patterns were measured during March, 1991 for 46 taxi drivers in the Seoul area. Badge-type personal samplers were worn for 24 hours by taxidrivers for monitoring personal expousre to NO$_{2}$. A standard respiratory questionnaire was administered and pulmonary function test was performed using a protable spirometry. The mean concentrations of personal NO$_{2}$ expousres of taxi drivers were 0.55ppm. Personal NO$_{2}$ exposures of taxi drivers were seemed to be higher in longer period of driving, smokers, and use of LP gas in homes. Prevalence rate of respiratory symptoms and the level of pulmonary function(FEV$_{1.0}$ and FVC) seemed to be related to higher personal NO$_{2}$ concentrations. It is concluded that persoanl NO$_{2}$ expousres of taxi drivers are probably affected by indoor NO$_{2}$ levels of a tax/and their common activities.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess excavator drivers in order to determine the proportion showing subjective symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders and to evaluate the association between the symptoms and characteristics of the subjects. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect the information on participants' age, average working hours per day, duration of career (years), work-related musculoskeletal symptoms, and more. The final dataset included 141 excavator drivers. Frequency and percentage were summarized and then the associations between the characteristics of the subjects and symptoms were evaluated as odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: Seventy-six percent of the currently reported musculoskeletal symptoms. Those who have musculoskeletal symptoms attributed their symptoms to unstable posture at work, mental stress or vibrations. There was a significant association between symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders and career of excavator drivers (P for trend=0.04). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders may be high among excavator drivers and warrants well-designed studies on work-related disorders among excavator drivers.

• The Journal of The Korea Institute of Intelligent Transport Systems
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.18-34
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• 2021

Pedestrian deaths in Korea due to traffic accidents are 40 percent of the fatalities in traffic accidents, which is about twice the average of OECD member countries. To reduce severe pedestrian accidents, it is necessary to apply the accident reduction measures to high-risk drivers (novice, elderly, and commercial vehicle drivers) who are more likely to cause traffic accidents than general drivers. Therefore, this study analyzed the effect of safe driving education on high-risk drivers' behavior. Here, the safe driving education is chosen as the measure to reduce traffic accidents. As part of the study, sudden pedestrian crossing situations were implemented in the driving simulator, and the vehicle trajectory data were collected to compare the driving behavior before and after the education. Most surrogate safety measures showed no improvement in the driving behavior of novice and elderly drivers, and the effect of safe driving education was found to be significant only in the group of commercial vehicle drivers. The results implied that additional measures such as pedestrian safety infrastructure and driver assistance systems, apart from the safe driving education, may be needed for novice and elderly drivers to reduce pedestrian accidents caused by them. With the findings mentioned above, this study is expected to provide a foundation to establish a plan to reduce pedestrian accidents caused by high-risk drivers.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.3D
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• pp.391-401
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• 2011

The Implementation Semi-Public Management System of Intra-City Bus brings improvements of the position stability, work environment and welfare of the bus drivers. As these benefits prevent drivers' job changes, average age of the drivers increases. Some side effects such as fatality increase after the implementation of the new system are becoming social problems. To minimize such problems, it is necessary to prepare the measurements reflected drivers' age increase and driving characteristics of old drivers to decrease traffic accidents of intra-city buses. The existing measurements are mostly simple policy. To get over such limitations, this study grasped driving characteristics by surveys and driving aptitude test targeting old drivers and non-old drivers who brings about traffic accidents actually. As a result, the characteristics of the old drivers were understood precisely. The measures of decrease of the traffic accidents are suggested by the analysis of the behavior characteristics of the old drivers through the structural equation model.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.178-189
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• 2023

As the necessity of customer relationship management (CRM) increases, measuring the performance of CRM have been actively discussed. Customer equity (CE) is regarded as an appropriate indicator for evaluating the outcomes of marketing activities. There are three drivers of CE: brand, value, and relationship equity. This study aims to investigate the impact of three drivers on customer satisfaction. Market competition is an environmental factor that affects the effectiveness of CRM. This study divides target firms into leaders and followers. This study found that the differential impact of CE drivers on customer satisfaction depends on the firm's status (leader or follower). Specifically, the brand equity driver significantly impacts the leader firm. However, the impacts of value and relationship equity drivers are bigger for follower firms. The above results suggest that firms need to build CRM strategies that consider the competitive situation of the market and their position.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.20 no.4 s.58
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• pp.69-75
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• 2005

Professional taxi driver exposure to indoor air pollutants has been a subject of concern in recent years because of higher levels of air pollutants, comparing to the surrounding atmosphere. This study evaluated the potential exposure to respirable suspended particulate (RSP), nitrogen dioxide $(NO_2)$ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs; benzene and toluene) for professional taxi drivers inside each of 10 vehicles in Pusan, comparing weekday (Monday and Thursday) and weekend (Saturday). Indoor mean concentrations of RSP inside vehicle were $53.88\;ug/m^3\;and\;75.52\;ug/m^3$ on weekday and weekend, respectively. Measured indoor $NO_2$ concentrations were 28.32ppb and 40.69 ppb, respectively. Benzene and toluene mean concentrations inside vehicle were 5.41 ppb and 11.36 ppb, respectively. Considering no smoking of taxi drivers inside vehicle, closed window in winter, and increased usage of taxi on weekend, source of indoor air pollutants inside taxi might be mainly suggested from the number of passenger's carried, faulty exhaust systems, and engine and carburetor evaporative emissions.