An Investigation of Factors Affecting Driver Alertness

Details

• Creators:
  Sussman, E. Donald ; Morris, Dominic F.
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; Cornell University
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. National Highway Safety Bureau
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Alertness
  • Cognition
  • Drivers
  • Driver errors
  • Automobile drivers
  • Human factors in crashes
  • Driver performance
  • Vigilance
  • Fatigue (Physiological condition)
  • Rest periods
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  VJ-2849-B-I
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. National Highway Safety Bureau
• NTL Classification:
  NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human Factors ; NTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway Safety
• Abstract:
  The study consisted of a review of the literature concerned with driver alertness, and an experimental investigation of the effects of three variables: driving time, acoustic noise, and task complexity on driver performance. The findings were that during long-duration, low-event driving, drivers showed a linear increase in road position error; during emergencies such as a blowout, the driver's position error increased after four hours of driving, and this increase is most marked under high noise conditions. In addition, the study revealed no degradation in performance attributable to the use of a "speed controller" (a device which automatically maintains a preset speed). The study also includes suggestions for future research and possible methods of alleviating the effects of reduced alertness.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  FH-II-7313
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/8571/dot_8571_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.57 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:b6b8f38e8ad2988ad06651dbe37d81f7afe6f7ee6d22c55137d6b9bd73c36c06