Driver fatigue and highway driving: a simulator study.
Long duration of driving is a significant cause of fatigue-related accidents on motorways or major roadways. The fatigue caused by driving for extended periods acutely impairs driver alertness and performance and can compromise transportation safety. This study quantitatively measured the progression of driver fatigue and identified the conservative safe duration of continuous highway driving. Thirty young male subjects were analyzed during 90 min of laboratory-simulated highway driving. Sleepiness ratings (SSS) and reaction time (RT) tests were used to assess impairment of driver alertness and vigilance. Additionally, various measures of driving performance recorded throughout the experiment were used to measure temporal deterioration of driver performance from alert to fatigued using principal component analysis (PCA). The analytical results revealed that SSS scores, reaction times (RTs) and unstable driving performance significantly increased over time, indicating that excessive driving time is a significant fatigue factor and potential cause of fatigue-related accidents. Moreover, the analytical results indicated that 80 min was the safe limit for monotonous highway driving. Based on the experimental findings of this study, public awareness of the adverse affects of driver fatigue during long-distance driving should be enhanced. This study provides explicit information of fatigue development that can be used to prevent fatigue-related accidents.
Ting
Ping-Huang
PH
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Central University, No.300, Jhongda Rd., Jhongli 320, Taiwan, ROC.
Hwang
Jiun-Ren
JR
Doong
Ji-Liang
JL
Jeng
Ming-Chang
MC
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001334:Automobile Driving; D003198:Computer Simulation; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012890:Sleep; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors