1,721,023 research outputs found
Driver sleepiness: Creation, consequences, and countermeasures
No full text<b>Overview</b>\ud
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• Creation\ud
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– Sleep/wake cycle \ud
– Influences on sleepiness\ud
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• Consequences\ud
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– Effects from sleepiness\ud
– Arousal influences\ud
– Signs of sleepiness\ud
– Sleepiness crash risk\ud
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• Countermeasures\ud
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– Effectiveness of various sleepiness countermeasure
Motivation to continue driving while sleepy: The effects on sleepiness and performance levels
No full textDriver sleepiness contributes to a substantial proportion of fatal and severe road crashes and potentially contributes to a greater proportion of less serious crashes. A number of survey studies have reported that some drivers choose to continue to drive while sleepy despite being aware of an increasing level of sleepiness. Additionally, drivers’ motivations to continue driving while sleepy is a stronger predictor of sleepy driving behaviours, overshadowing crash risk perception of sleepy driving. While several survey studies have quantified self-reported aspects of continuing to drive while sleepy, there appears to be lack of studies that examine the actual psychophysiological and performance sequela of continuing to drive when sleepy. The current study sought to examine the effect motivating oneself to apply extra effort to the task of driving when sleepy on physiological and subjective sleepiness and driving performance. In total, 18 participants undertook a 60 minute Hazard Perception test on four occasions – on the four occasions, the participants motivation level (motivated and non-motivated) and sleepiness level (sleepy-alert) were experimentally manipulated. Physiological, subjective, and performance indices of sleepiness were obtained with respect to the effects of the manipulation of motivation and sleepiness levels. The results suggest that no effect of motivation was observed in the Hazard Perception test data. Physiological and subjective sleepiness were both greater in the sleepy conditions than the alert conditions and over the duration of both tests, sleepiness levels increased regardless of the motivation or sleepiness conditions. Considered together, these findings suggest that sleepiness is very resilient to motivations to stay alert and improve performance levels. The present results suggest that continuing to drive while sleepy whereby the drivers motivate themself to apply extra effort to the task of driving is a dangerous driving behaviour
The sleep and wake drives : exploring the genetic and psychophysiological aspects of sleepiness, motivation, and performance
No full textThis research program examined the factors of motivation and genetic variations for their effects on sleepiness and performance. The results suggest that certain genetic variations were found to influence aspects of physiological and subjective sleepiness as well as performance outcomes. Motivation had no effect on performance when partially sleep deprived, but motivation improved task performance on a low-order cognitive task when fully rested. The results suggest sleepiness is resistant to motivation to improve performance. As such, drivers who continue to drive while sleepy by applying extra effort to the task of driving are engaging in a risky driving behaviour
Too sleepy to drive : self-perception and regulation of driving when sleepy
No full textBackground: Sleepiness is a direct contributor to a substantial proportion of fatal and severe road cashes. A number of technological solutions designed to detect sleepiness have been developed, but self-awareness of increasing sleepiness remains a critical component in on-road strategies for mitigating this risk. In order to take appropriate action when sleepy, drivers’ perceptions of their level of sleepiness must be accurate. \ud
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Aims: This study aimed to assess capacity to accurately identify sleepiness and self-regulate driving cessation during a validated driving simulator task. Participants: Participants comprised 26 young adult drivers (20-28 years). The drivers had open licenses but no other exclusion criteria where used. \ud
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Methods: Participants woke at 5am, and took part in a laboratory-based hazard perception driving simulation, either at mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Established physiological measures (including EEG) and subjective measures (sleepiness ratings) previously found sensitive to changes in sleepiness levels were utilised. Participants were instructed to ‘drive’ until they believed that sleepiness had impaired their ability to drive safely. They were then offered a nap opportunity. \ud
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Results: The mean duration of the drive before cessation was 39 minutes (±18 minutes). Almost all (23/26) of the participants then achieved sleep during the nap opportunity. These data suggest that the participants’ perceptions of sleepiness were specific. However, EEG data from a number of participants suggested very high levels of sleepiness prior to driving cessation, suggesting poor sensitivity. \ud
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Conclusions: Participants reported high levels of sleepiness while driving after very moderate sleep restriction. They were able to identify increasing sleepiness during the test period, could decide to cease driving and in most cases were sufficiently sleepy to achieve sleep during the daytime session. However, the levels of sleepiness achieved prior to driving cessation suggest poor accuracy in self-perception and regulation. This presents practical issues for the implementation of fatigue and sleep-related strategies to improve driver safety
Sleepy driving and drink driving: attitudes, behaviours, and perceived legitimacy of enforcement of younger and older drivers
No full textSleepy driving and drink driving are two risky driving behaviours that substantially contribute to road crashes. Several studies demonstrate equivalent levels of impairment from both sleepy and drink driving. Yet, drivers perceive sleepy and drink driving distinctly different, with younger and older drivers engaging in these two risky driving behaviours at different rates. The current study sought to examine the sleepy and drink driving behaviours and perceptions in a sample of 114 younger (17-29 years) and 177 older (30+ years) drivers. Compared to older drivers, younger drivers reported more positive attitudes toward sleepy and drink driving behaviours, as well as more negative views regarding perceived legitimacy of sleepy driving enforcement. Younger drivers were also more likely to report performing sleepy driving behaviours than older drivers. Younger drivers reported greater likelihood to drive while sleepy, lower perceptions of legitimacy for sleepy driving, and more positive attitudes towards sleepy driving when compared to drink driving and the same pattern was found for older drivers as well. Subsequently, the self-reported likelihood of driving while sleepy was greater than drink driving in both age groups. Overall, the results suggest that sleepy driving is not viewed as equally dangerous as drink driving with younger drivers’ perceptions being more lenient than older drivers’ perceptions. It is likely that change is needed regarding the perceptions of dangerousness of sleepy driving with a particular focus on younger drivers seemingly needed
Deterrence of drug driving : the impact of the ACT drug driving legislation and detection techniques
No full textOverarching Research Questions\ud
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Are ACT motorists aware of roadside saliva based drug testing operations?\ud
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What is the perceived deterrent impact of the operations?\ud
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What factors are predictive of future intentions to drug drive?\ud
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What are the differences between key subgroup
Improving the identification of fatigue-related crashes in the Australian Capital Territory
No full textIt has been well established nationally and internationally that fatigue-related driving is an important contributory factor in fatal and serious injury crashes. The purpose of this report was to survey a large, representative sample of residents living in both the NSW and ACT to ask about their experience of fatigue and their involvement in fatigue-related crashes and incidents. This will provide valuable data about the number and characteristics of fatigue-related crashes and incidents of ACT residents. Specifically this study assessed the prevalence of incidents of fatigue-related driving for residents of NSW and the ACT, the characteristics surrounding the incident, if the report would fit within the NSW, QLD, or ATSB proxy definition or if it would fall outside of the proxy definition..
In the blink of an eye : the circadian effects on ocular and subjective indices of driver sleepiness
No full textDriver sleepiness contributes substantially to fatal and severe crashes and the contribution it makes to less serious crashes is likely to as great or greater. Currently, drivers’ awareness of sleepiness (subjective sleepiness) remains a critical component for the mitigation of sleep-related crashes. Nonetheless, numerous calls have been made for technological monitors of drivers’ physiological sleepiness levels so drivers can be ‘alerted’ when approaching high levels of sleepiness. Several physiological indices of sleepiness show potential as a reliable metric to monitor drivers’ sleepiness levels, with eye blink indices being a promising candidate. However, extensive evaluations of eye blink measures are lacking including the effects that the endogenous circadian rhythm can have on eye blinks. To examine the utility of ocular measures, 26 participants completed a simulated driving task while physiological measures of blink rate and duration were recorded after partial sleep restriction. To examine the circadian effects participants were randomly assigned to complete either a morning or an afternoon session of the driving task. The results show subjective sleepiness levels increased over the duration of the task. The blink duration index was sensitive to increases in sleepiness during morning testing, but was not sensitive during afternoon testing. This finding suggests that the utility of blink indices as a reliable metric for sleepiness are still far from specific. The subjective measures had the largest effect size when compared to the blink measures. Therefore, awareness of sleepiness still remains a critical factor for driver sleepiness and the mitigation of sleep-related crashes
Exploring perceived legitimacy of traffic law enforcement
No full textThe purpose of traffic law enforcement is to encourage compliant driver behaviour. That is, the threat of an undesirable sanction encourages drivers to comply with traffic laws. However, not all traffic law violations are considered equal. For example, while drink driving is generally seen as socially unacceptable, behaviours such as speeding are arguably less so, and speed enforcement is often portrayed in the popular media as a means of “revenue raising”. The perceived legitimacy of traffic law enforcement has received limited research attention to date. Perceived legitimacy of traffic law enforcement may influence (or be influenced by) attitudes toward illegal driving behaviours, and both of these factors are likely to influence on-road driving behaviour. This study aimed to explore attitudes toward a number of illegal driving behaviours and traffic law enforcement approaches that typically target these behaviours using self-reported data from a large sample of drivers. The results of this research can be used to inform further research in this area, as well as the content of public education and advertising campaigns designed to influence attitudes toward illegal driving behaviours and perceived legitimacy of traffic law enforcement
Driver sleepiness self-regulation : physiological and subjective evidence
No full textIntroduction: Sleepiness contributes to a substantial proportion of fatal and severe road crashes. Efforts to reduce the incidence of sleep-related crashes have largely focussed on driver education to promote self-regulation of driving behaviour. However, effective self-regulation requires accurate self-perception of sleepiness. The aim of this study was to assess capacity to accurately identify sleepiness, and self-regulate driving cessation, during a validated driving simulator task. Methods: Participants comprised 26 young adult drivers (20-28 years) who had open licenses. No other exclusion criteria where used. Participants were partially sleep deprived (05:00 wake up) and completed a laboratory-based hazard perception driving simulation, counterbalanced to either at mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Established physiological measures (i.e., EEG, EOG) and subjective measures (Karolinska Sleepiness Scale), previously found sensitive to changes in sleepiness levels, were utilised. Participants were instructed to ‘drive’ on the simulator until they believed that sleepiness had impaired their ability to drive safely. They were then offered a nap opportunity. Results: The mean duration of the drive before cessation was 36.1 minutes (±17.7 minutes). Subjective sleepiness increased significantly from the beginning (KSS=6.6±0.7) to the end (KSS=8.2±0.5) of the driving period. No significant differences were found for EEG spectral power measures of sleepiness (i.e., theta or alpha spectral power) from the start of the driving task to the point of cessation of driving. During the nap opportunity, 88% of the participants (23/26) were able to reach sleep onset with an average latency of 9.9 minutes (±7.5 minutes). The average nap duration was 15.1 minutes (±8.1 minutes). Sleep architecture during the nap was predominately comprised of Stages I and II (combined 92%). Discussion: Participants reported high levels of sleepiness during daytime driving after very moderate sleep restriction. They were able to report increasing sleepiness during the test period despite no observed change in standard physiological indices of sleepiness. This increased subjective sleepiness had behavioural validity as the participants had high ‘napability’ at the point of driving cessation, with most achieving some degree of subsequent sleep. This study suggests that the nature of a safety instruction (i.e. how to view sleepiness) can be a determinant of driver behaviour
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