TIREDNESS AND VISUAL REACTION TIME AMONG YOUNG MALE NIGHTTIME DRIVERS: A ROADSIDE SURVEY

The study focuses on the incidence and importance of tiredness among young male car drivers in nighttime traffic. It took place on a major highway in Copenhagen County, Denmark, and was performed as roadside surveys in the hours between midnight and 6 a.m. The study consisted of a questionnaire with self-assessment of tiredness followed by a simple visual reaction-time test. 249 nighttime drivers and 40 early morning drivers joined the study. 123 nighttime drivers declared themselves as rested, 106 as tired, and 11 as very tired. 37 early morning drivers declared themselves as rested, while the remaining 3 declared themselves as tired. The drivers' self-assessed level of tiredness corresponded well with the results of the simple visual reaction-time test, but one self-declared tired driver had to be reclassified as very tired. The visual reaction-time test henceforth showed a mean reaction time of 0.189 seconds for the rested drivers, 0.223 seconds for the tired, and 0.309 seconds for the very tired nighttime drivers (p<.001). Mean reaction time for the early morning drivers was 0.190 seconds corresponding to 0.246 seconds in the equivalent nighttime group (p<.001). The fluctuations in mean reaction time throughout the night for the whole population including the early morning drivers correlated well with the number of tired/very tired drivers (corr. = 0.96). The study shows tiredness as a common affliction among young male nighttime drivers.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00014575
• Corporate Authors:

  Elsevier

  The Boulevard, Langford Lane
  Kidlington, Oxford  United Kingdom  OX5 1GB
• Authors:
  • Corfitsen, M T
• Publication Date: 1994-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 617-624
• Serial:
  • Accident Analysis & Prevention
  • Volume: 26
  • Issue Number: 5
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0001-4575
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00014575

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Automobile driving; Circadian rhythms; Drivers; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Males; Night; Reaction time; Teenage drivers; Vision
• Uncontrolled Terms: Night driving
• Old TRIS Terms: Male drivers
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00667297
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 7 1994 12:00AM