HOW FATIGUE DEGRADES YOUR DRIVING SKILL
CORNELL AERONAUTICAL LABORATORY IS UNDER CONTRACT TO THE U. S. DOT TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF FATIGUE ON DRIVER PERFORMANCE. IN ONE SERIES OF TESTS, 48 EXPERIENCED DRIVERS "DROVE" STEADILY FOR FOUR HOURS IN A SIMULATOR THAT REPRODUCED A LIGHTLY TRAVELLED ROAD AT NIGHT. ELECTRODES MEASURED THE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY OF THE BRAIN AND BACK MUSCLES AND CHANGES IN GALVANIC SKIN RESISTANCE. DRIVERS ALSO WORE A DEVICE THAT MEASURED EYE MOVEMENTS. THE HIGHWAY IMAGE, REAR- PROJECTED ONTO A CURVED SCREEN, WAS CONTINUOUSLY MODIFIED BY COMPUTER TO CORRECT ROAD VIEW WITH CHANGES IN VEHICLE POSITION. EACH DRIVER WAS SUBJECT THROUGHOUT THE TEST TO ONE OF THREE PRESET LEVELS OF ACOUSTIC NOISE: LOW, MEDIUM, OR HIGH. AMONG THE OTHER VARIABLES WERE HILLS, OBJECT AVOIDANCE, HEADLIGHT BEAM CHANGING, AND A SINGLE BLOWOUT. AMONG THE CONCLUSIONS WERE THAT DURING THE LAST HALF HOUR STEERING WHEEL CORRECTIONS REQUIRED ABOUT 20% MORE TIME THAN IN THE FIRST HALF HOUR, DRIFTS AWAY FROM THE CENTER OF THE LANE WERE TWICE AS FAR, ABILITY TO MAINTAIN A DESIGNATED SPEED OR REACT TO OVERTAKING WAS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY AFFECTED, AND CARS WITH A VERY NOISY ENVIRONMENT SWERVED THREE TIMES AS FAR AFTER A BLOWOUT BEFORE CONTROL WAS REGAINED. IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT AFTER A FOUR-MINUTE BREAK AT THE END OF THE FOUR-HOUR TEST DRIVE, PERFORMANCE RETURNED TO A LEVEL EQUAL TO THAT AT THE END OF THE FIRST HOUR OF DRIVING.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 20, pp 61-63, 2 FIG, 1 TAB
- Publication Date: 1971-9
Media Info
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Driver performance; Drivers; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Personnel performance; Simulation; Training simulators
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00221525
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Feb 24 1972 12:00AM