Key result
Driving increases reaction time and reduces heart rate compared to passenger or stationary conditions.
Why the study?
The study aimed to investigate changes in reaction time and heart rate during driving, passenger travel, and stationary conditions to understand their effects on driving proficiency.
Does car driving alter reaction time and heart rate compared to passenger or stationary conditions in female subjects?
Does car driving alter reaction time and heart rate compared to passenger or stationary conditions in female subjects?
Driving increases reaction time and decreases heart rate over a 2-hour period, suggesting changes in arousal and potential declines in driving proficiency.
Driving may slow reactions in women; hypothesis-generating for ergonomics and requires larger validation before safety implications.
A reaction time (RT) task was used in three conditions, each lasting 2 h, during which six female subjects: (i) drove on a 5 km closed track, (ii) were driven as passenger on the same track, and (iii) were tested in a stationary vehicle. There was an increase in RT only in the driving condition. Furthermore, there was a progressively greater increase in RT over the three successive test sessions, independent of the order in which conditions were tested. Measurement of hoart-rato (HE) showed that HR deereasod only in the driving and the passenger conditions, and that the docreaso in HR became progressively smaller over the three sossions. Consequently RT-data and HR-data (interpreted as indicating lovel of arousal) provided contra-indications of changes in driving proficiency.
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Laurell et al. (1976) studied this question. Car driving vs. Passenger travel and stationary vehicle was evaluated on Reaction time (RT) and heart rate (HR). Car driving increased reaction time and decreased heart rate compared to passenger and stationary conditions, providing contra-indications of changes in driving proficiency.
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