THE INFLUENCE OF ASPECTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT ON MEASURES FOR TASK LOAD AND DRIVING BEHAVIOUR - A PILOT EXPERIMENT

DE INVLOED VAN OMGEVINGSFAKTOREN OP MATEN VOOR TAAKBELASTING EN RIJGEDRAG - EEN VERKENNEND ONDERZOEK

In a pilot experiment an attempt was made to gain more insight into the influence some static and dynamic aspects in the environment might have on some measures of heart rate, heart rate variability and driving behavior. Subjects drove an instrumented car on three different test routes: town, four-lane motorway with divided traffic lanes, and two-lane highway. Also, subjects drove under two different order conditions. An auditory subsidiary task was used to obtain more information on driving task difficulty. All heart rate measures proved to be sufficiently sensitive to differentiate between driving in town versus driving on the motorway or the highway; static aspects of the environment, such as narrow lane width, showed an effect upon heart rate variability. The auditory subsidiary task had an influence on the number of reversals in heart rate and steering signal. Also, there existed some remarkable differences in lateral and longitudinal control between motorway and highway. The contribution of this experiment is discussed in the frame-work of relevant literature; suggestions for follow-up experiments are given. (A) /TRRL/

• Corporate Authors:

  Instituut voor Zintuigfysiologie, TNO

  Kampweg 5
  Soesterberg,   Netherlands 
• Authors:
  • Blauw, G J
  • Biesta, P W
• Publication Date: 1967

Language

• Dutch

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 64 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Atmosphere; Behavior; Drivers; Driving; Dynamics; Environment; Environmental impacts; Evaluation and assessment; Freeways; Heart; Highways; Rural areas; Speed; Statics; Tests; Traffic lanes; Urban areas; Width
• Old TRIS Terms: Dynamic conditions; Static conditions; Urban atmospheres
• Subject Areas: Environment; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00148014
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Institute for Road Safety Research, SWOV
• Report/Paper Numbers: Monograph
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1977 12:00AM