Driving Vigilance Simulator Test

Haraldsson, Per‐Olle; Carenfelt, Christer; Laurell, H; Törnros, Jan · 1990 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.3109/00016489009122528

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Summary

This study addresses the safety risks associated with drivers suffering from hypersomnia, particularly those exhibiting clinical features of the sleep apnoea syndrome. While conventional vigilance tests measure psychomotor depression, they fail to simulate actual driving conditions. The authors aimed to evaluate whether a computerized driving simulator could objectively assess driving performance and vigilance impairment in patients prone to falling asleep at the wheel, thereby providing a tool for risk identification and treatment evaluation. The experimental design involved 15 male patients with habitual sleep spells while driving and 10 matched male controls, all aged 30–69 years with regular driving experience. Participants underwent a monotonous driving task on an advanced simulator mounted in a SAAB 900 cabin, featuring a moving base and visual projection. The task required maintaining a speed of 90 km/h on a narrow, curved road at twilight while reacting to visual stimuli. Two test versions were used: Test A required brake reactions to red/green stimuli and button presses for yellow/black stimuli; Test B added a stimulus triggered by minimal steering movement. Performance was measured via brake reaction time (BRT), lateral position deviation (LPD) from the road line, and off-road episodes. Subjects were video-recorded to observe sleep attacks, and tests lasted up to 90 minutes under controlled conditions regarding sleep and alcohol intake. The results demonstrated significant impairment in the patient group compared to controls. Patients had significantly increased brake reaction times and greater deviations from the straight road line. Specifically, the average 90th percentile BRT for patients was 1.2 seconds longer than for controls, equating to an additional 30 meters required to stop at the tested speed. Eight patients drove off the road at least once (101 total episodes), compared to only one control driver (2 episodes). Six patients missed reaction stimuli, whereas no controls did. Additionally, three patients terminated the test early due to sleepiness, resulting in a shorter average test duration for patients (77 minutes) than controls (87 minutes). Video recordings confirmed that most patients struggled to stay awake, with many experiencing momentary sleep episodes that did not always result in crashes. The study concludes that the driving simulator is a sensitive and valuable method for quantitatively ascertaining driving vigilance impairment in sleepy drivers. The findings suggest that the simulator effectively discriminates between impaired patients and healthy controls, reflecting real-world risks where sleep apnoea patients have significantly higher accident rates. Furthermore, the authors note that such testing could be instrumental in evaluating the efficacy of treatments for diurnal hypersomnia, as previous data indicated improved performance in patients following surgical intervention.

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Topics

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• drowsiness
• drowsiness detection algorithms
• vigilance
• sleep deprivation
• prescription meds
• truck driver fatigue

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data
• Methodological Resource: validation psychometrics, tool software