FINAL REPORT OF STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF A PERIODIC REFRESHMENT PAUSE ON SIMULATED-AUTOMOBILE DRIVING PERFORMANCE EFFICIENCY
DURING A 3-YEAR PERIOD, 56 DRIVERS WERE INDIVIDUALLY TAKEN THROUGH AN EXPERIMENTAL 15-HR CYCLE. THE FIRST PHASE WAS TO FAMILIARIZE THE SUBJECTS WITH THE EQUIPMENT AND TO MINIMIZE ANY PRACTICE EFFECT THAT MIGHT BE REFLECTED. BECAUSE A PILOT STUDY SHOWED THAT FOR VARIABLES OF THIS TYPE MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE WAS REACHED WITHIN THE FIRST 3 HRS OF DRIVING, THE PRACTICE PERIOD WAS LIMITED TO 3 HRS BEHIND THE WHEEL. THE SECOND PHASE STUDIED DRIVING EFFICIENCY OVER A 6-HR PERIOD OF SIMULATED AUTOMOBILE DRIVING. AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE PERFORMANCE CURVE FOR VARIABLES AMENABLE TO CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT. A SERIES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOMETRIC, AND PSYCHOPHYSICAL TESTS WAS ADMINISTERED BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER THE DRIVING PERIOD TO DETECT ANY CHANGES THAT OCCURRED IN PERFORMANCE ON CERTAIN FACTORS RELEVANT TO SAFE DRIVING. THE EFFECT OF PERIODIC TEA PAUSES ON THE ONSET AND EXTENT OF WORK DECREMENT WAS NOTED. A PERSONAL EVALUATION FROM EACH PARTICIPANT WAS COMPARED WITH DRIVING PERFORMANCE AND TEST RESULTS. THE PRINCIPAL FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS: (1) WORK DECREMENT BEGINS WITHIN THE FIRST 2 HRS OF SIMULATED AUTOMOBILE DRIVING, (2) TEA PAUSE PROLONGS THE ONSET AND REDUCES THE WORK DECREMENT RESULTING FROM A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SIMULATED AUTOMOBILE DRIVING, (3) THE EFFECT OF A TEA PAUSE CAN BE DETECTED MOST READILY BY MEASUREMENTS MADE WHILE THE SUBJECT IS ACTUALLY PERFORMING, AND (4) DRIVERS EITHER CANNOT OR DO NOT ACCURATELY EVALUATE THEIR OWN LEVEL OF DRIVING EFFICIENCY. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- No 212, pp 27-37, 5 FIG, 3 TAB, 5 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Suhr, Virtus W
- Publication Date: 1959
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Pagination: 11p
- Monograph Title: Characteristics of vehicle operators
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Bulletin
- Issue Number: 212
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Behavior; Driver performance; Drivers; Driving simulators; Fatigue (Physiological condition); Personnel performance; Roadside rest areas; Testing
- Old TRIS Terms: Driver psychology; Rest stops
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00222898
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Apr 28 1994 12:00AM