PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS AND HIGHWAY SAFETY

IT IS PROPOSED THAT, EVEN UNDER THE BEST CONDITIONS, DRIVING IS A PSYCHOLOGICALLY AND PHYSIOLOGICALLY STRESSING CONDITION. QUANTIFICATION OF THIS STRESS WILL ALLOW MEANINGFUL COMPARISONS OF DIFFERENT TRAFFIC SITUATIONS. IT WILL FURTHER ALLOW THE EXAMINATION OF PARTICULAR DRIVER GROUPS (ATHEROSCLEROTICS, HYPERTENSIVES, ETC.) AS TO THEIR PERFORMANCE IN, AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO, DIFFERENT DRIVING STRESS CONDITIONS. PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES AND PERFORMANCE INDICANTS ARE BEING MEASURED WHILE SUBJECTS DRIVE IN PRESELECTED TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. PRESENT WORK IS CONCERNED WITH CHANGES OBSERVED AS A FUNCTION OF SUBJECT AGE AND HEALTH, AND TRAFFIC VOLUMES. DEPENDENT VARIABLES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: ELECTROCARDIOGRAM, BLOOD PRESSURE, ELECTROENCEPHOLOGRAM, GALVANIC SKIN RESPONSE, RESPIRATION, VIGILANCE PERFORMANCE, STEERING CONTROL MOVEMENTS, AND THROTTLE CONTROL MOVEMENTS. CATECHOLAMINES AND 17-OH- STEROIDS IN BLOOD AND URINE ARE ALSO MEASURED. USE OF SUBJECTS IN AN ACTUAL DRIVING SITUATION IS DEEMED NECESSARY TO REALIZE THE STRESS CONDITIONS NEVER FOUND IN DRIVING SIMULATORS. THE USE OF INSTRUMENTATION TECHNIQUES AMENABLE TO COMPUTER DATA PROCESSING ALLOWS COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF GREATER QUANTITIES OF DATA THAN PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE. THIS DATA IS ANALYZED, IN PART, WITH REGARD TO CONCEPTS OF CRITICAL LEVELS OF STRESS, ACTIVATION, AND AROUSAL. IT IS HOPED THAT THIS STUDY WILL BEGIN TO QUANTIFY THE STRESS LEVELS INVOLVED IN TODAY'S DRIVING TASKS. SITUATIONS IDENTIFIED AS PRODUCING HIGH STRESS LEVELS (HIGH ACCIDENT PROBABILITY) MAY BE CHANGED OR AVOIDED. THIS INFORMATION MAY THIS INFORMATION MAY MAKE POSSIBLE MORE EQUITABLE LICENSING AND INSURANCE PRACTICES. IN ADDITION, AMBULATORY PATIENTS OF ALL TYPES MAY HAVE A BETTER REALIZATION OF THE POSSIBLE HAZARDS INVOLVED IN THE DRIVING TASK. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 5 Pp, 2 Fig, 12 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

  Physiological Hygiene Lab
  Minneapolis, MN  United States  55455
• Authors:
  • Keiper, C G
  • Simonson, E
  • Baker, C A
  • Burns, N M
  • Stack, HOUSE SP
• Publication Date: 1967-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Behavior; Blood pressure; Driver performance; Drivers; Electrocardiography; Galvanic skin response; Health; Highway safety; Information processing; Measurement; Personnel performance; Physiological aspects; Psychological aspects; Respiratory system; Stresses; Traffic volume
• Old TRIS Terms: Cardiography; Driver psychology
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222922
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 8 1994 12:00AM