STRESS THRESHOLD FOR DRIVERS UNDER VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF DISCRETE AND TRACKING WORKLOAD

The purpose of this study was to determine a stress threshold for drivers under various combinations of discrete and tracking workload. For example, if a driver was given a tracking (steering) workload of 50%, the objective would be to determine the largest percentage of discrete workloads (such as sign reading) he could handle simultaneously. The 15 subjects in the study first carried out a series of tracking tasks, and the workload on each difficulty level was measured with a second task. They then executed a number of discrete tasks, and the workload on each difficulty level was measured. Various workload levels were then combined in an effort to discover the stress threshold for different combinations of discrete and tracking tasks. Study results indicated that subjects are unable to simultaneously execute two tasks, each of which occupies 50% of their attention when executed alone. A regression analysis was performed on the data to determine what levels of tracking workload can be executed simultaneously with various levels of discrete task workload. /Author/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper presented at the 19th Human Factors Society Annual Meeting, held on October 14-16, 1975.
• Corporate Authors:

  Human Factors Society

  1134 Montana
  Santa Monica, CA  United States  90403
• Authors:
  • McDonald, L B
  • Ellis, N E
• Publication Date: 1975-10

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 488-493

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driver performance; Drivers; Labor; Personnel performance; Steering; Stress (Psychology); Tracking systems
• Uncontrolled Terms: Tracking; Work
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00142022
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Safety Council Safety Research Info Serv
• Report/Paper Numbers: Proceeding
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 31 1977 12:00AM