Physiology parameter analysis of the physiology load of drivers under stress

In order to investigate the characteristics of the changes in drivers’ physiology load when they are in a stress response state, 22 participates took part in a virtual stress response test based on a driving simulator. The parameters used in the analysis of the drivers’ physiology load were the heart growth rate and low-frequency (LF) heart rate variability. The physiology data of the drivers were supervised by a physiology monitoring system during the stress response test. Two scenes were established in the research, the drivers approaching the stress object with a constant speed and in the same distance from the stress object the drivers travelling with different driving speed. In the first scenario, as the drivers approaching the stress object, their physiology load increased correspondingly. With time to collision of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0s, the heart growth rates of the drivers increased by 19.6%, 23.84%, and 29.66% in average. In the second scenario, as the driving speed increased, the physiology load of the drivers increased. The average LF heart rate variability of the drivers was 771.28, 629.00, and 573.42 ms² when they were driving at the speed of 30, 40 and 60 km/h. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the physiology load of the drivers when they traveled with different speed and different distances from the stress object.