In order to explore the relationship between car driving and musculoskeletal troubles, a cross-sectional structured-interview survey of low-to high-mileage drivers (including individuals who drove as part of their job) was conducted based on the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The results clearly showed that exposure to car driving was associated with reported sickness absence due to low back trouble and that those who drive as part of their job appear to be more at risk from low back trouble than those whose jobs primarily involve sitting (not driving) and standing activities. The frequency of reported discomfort also increased with higher annual mileage. In addition, drivers of cars with more adjustable driving packages had fewer reported musculoskeletal troubles. This identifies an urgent need for the training of managers of fleet vehicles in the importance of developing measures to reduce this problem, for example, the selection of an individual's car with respect to comfort and postural criteria.

The Occupational Health Department of a rural police force in the UK had concerns regarding sickness absence levels due to musculoskeletal problems, particularly in officers who drove as part of their job. It was decided to conduct an interview survey comparing two groups of police officers with differing levels of exposure to driving, recording sickness absence and prevalence data related due to musculoskeletal troubles. The results indicate that exposure to car driving, both in terms of distance and hours driven, had a significant effect on self-reported low back trouble. Officers whose job mainly involved driving also experienced more low back trouble over the last 12 months than those whose job primarily involved sitting (not driving), standing and lifting tasks. Police motorcyclists had significantly higher prevalence figures for reported shoulder trouble than police car drivers.

Citation: GYI, D. and PORTER, J., 1999. Interface pressure and the prediction of car seat discomfort. Applied Ergonomics, 30 (2) AbstractThe technique of interface pressure measurement has generated considerable interest in the automotive industry as a method, which could be used to predict driver discomfort during the development of prototype seat designs. Two repeated measures experiments were carried out to evaluate the practical application of the technique. The variables of foam density and posture were used to create discomfort, the whole emphasis of the work being to generate results with real world applicability. A clear, simple and consistent relationship between interface pressure and driving discomfort was not identified. Future studies using this technique should provide information regarding such factors as gender, body mass, anthropometric data, posture and foam hardness due to the confounding nature of these variables.

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An objective measure that will predict discomfort reliably, and which can be used at an early stage in the development of a vehicle and its seating, would have the potential to reduce the prevalence of musculoskeletal problems associated with driving. This paper reports on an extended road trial study to further investigate the potential value of pressure distribution data in the prediction of reported discomfort. Road trial data were collected from three cars and then interface pressure data were recorded for each of the three seats. Clear differences were identified between the cars with respect to reports of discomfort. However, no clear relationship was found between interface pressure data and reported discomfort.