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Observer rated sleepiness and real road driving: an explorative study.
Anna Anund1, Carina Fors, David Hallvig
1Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute, Linköping, Sweden. anna.anund@vti.se
Plos One
|June 1, 2013
Summary
Observer ratings of driver sleepiness (ORS) can track general trends in fatigue during field studies. However, ORS methods are less effective at detecting sudden, short-term changes in sleepiness.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Transportation Safety
- Human Factors
Background:
- Driver sleepiness is a significant factor in road accidents.
- Quantifying driver sleepiness in real-world conditions presents challenges.
- Observer-rated sleepiness (ORS) offers a potential method for field studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of observer-rated sleepiness (ORS) for quantifying driver fatigue in field settings.
- To compare two ORS measures: behavioral signs (B-ORS) and driving performance (D-ORS).
Main Methods:
- Two observer-rated sleepiness scales (B-ORS and D-ORS) were applied by observers in an experimental vehicle.
- Data collected included subjective sleepiness (KSS), electrooculography (EOG) for blink duration, and driving performance metrics.
- 24 participants were observed over multiple sessions across different times of day.
Main Results:
- Observer ratings of sleepiness correlated with general patterns of time awake, circadian phase, and time of driving.
- A high correlation was found between B-ORS and D-ORS (r=0.588).
- ORS measures showed moderate association with blink duration and subjective sleepiness (KSS), but weak association with driving performance.
- ORS methods detected general variations in sleepiness but struggled with detecting sudden, short-term (5-minute) changes.
Conclusions:
- Observer-rated sleepiness (ORS) is sensitive to general variations in driver fatigue in field studies.
- ORS, particularly D-ORS and B-ORS, can capture expected patterns of sleepiness related to time awake and circadian rhythms.
- ORS methods have limitations in detecting rapid, fine-grained fluctuations in driver sleepiness.
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