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A new method for assessing the risks of drowsiness while driving

Eine neue Methode zur Einschätzung der Risiken von Schläfrigkeit am Steuer

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Zusammenfassung

Fragestellung

Schläfrigkeit von Fahrzeugführern ist vermutlich eine Hauptursache von Verkehrsunfällen. Es gibt jedoch kein standardisiertes Verfahren zur Ermittlung der Schläfrigkeit zum Zeitpunkt des Unfalls. Die Schläfrigkeit wird mit einer neuen Kombination gewichteter Blinkvariablen gemessen und mit Infrarot Reflektions-Oculographie erfasst (Johns Drowsiness Skala oder JDS). Es wird untersucht, ob Leistungseinbrüche mit zwei verschiedenen Reaktionszeit-Tests und einem Fahrsimulator-Test korrelieren.

Methoden

31 gesunde Probanden absolvierten einen einfachen Reaktionszeittest (SRT) und einen Wahlreaktionszeittest (CRT) für 15 Minuten mit und ohne Schlafentzug für 27 bis 33 Stunden. Die Schläfrigkeit wurde jede Minute mit dem JDS (0–10) bestimmt. Zusätzlich fuhren 15 Probanden 70 Minuten lang mit dem Fahrsimulator mit und ohne Schlafentzug.

Ergebnisse

Beim CRT und beim SRT waren die Reaktionszeiten länger und die Fehler (keine Antwort innerhalb von 2 Sekunden nach Stimulus) häufiger. Die Häufigkeit von der Strasse zu fahren nahm zu und der JDS nahm signifikant zu. Das Risiko je Minute einen Fehler im SRT zu machen und mit dem Fahrsimulator von der Strasse zu fahren nahm parallel zu einem Anstieg des JDS zu (p < 0.001).

Schlussfolgerung

Das Risiko Leistungsfehler bei Schläfrigkeit zu machen ist mit hohen JDS Werten assoziiert. Der JDS spiegelt hauptsächlich Änderungen in der Charakteristik der Augenblinks wider. Hiermit kann die Basis für eine neue Methode gelegt werden welche die Schläfrigkeit kontinuierlich beim Fahren erfasst.

Summary

Question of the study

The drowsiness of drivers is believed to be a major cause of road crashes, but there is no standardized method for determining how drowsy a driver is or was at a particular time. This report describes how drowsiness, measured on a new scale (the Johns Drowsiness Scale or JDS) based on a weighted combination of ocular variables measured by infrared reflectance oculography, was related to performance failures in two different kinds of reaction-time (RT) tests as well as during simulated driving tests.

Methods

31 healthy volunteers performed simple (SRT) and choice (CRT) RT tests for 15 minutes with and without sleep deprivation for 27–33 hours. Their drowsiness was measured as a JDS score (0–10) each minute. In a separate experiment, 15 healthy young adults simulated driving in a car for about 70 minutes when alert and when sleep-deprived while their drowsiness was also measured.

Results

After sleep deprivation, RTs increased and errors of omission (failure to respond within 2 seconds from the start of the stimulus) occurred more frequently in both the SRT and CRT tests, the frequency of driving off the road increased, and JDS scores also increased significantly. The risk per minute for each subject of making an error of omission in SRT tests and of driving “off road” in a car simulator increased progressively with JDS scores (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The risk of performance failure in the drowsy state is associated with high JDS scores, mainly reflecting changes in the characteristics of eyelid movements during blinks at the time. This could form the basis of a new method for continuously assessing the risks of drowsiness while driving.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sleep Diagnostics Pty Ltd, Melbourne (VIC), Australia

    Murray W. Johns, Robert Chapman, Kate Crowley & Andrew Tucker

  2. Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne (VIC), Australia

    Murray W. Johns

  3. Suite 9, 150 Chestnut Street, Richmond, Melbourne (VIC), 3121, Australia

    Murray W. Johns

  4. Melbourne University, Melbourne (VIC), Australia

    Kate Crowley

Authors
  1. Murray W. Johns
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  2. Robert Chapman
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  3. Kate Crowley
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  4. Andrew Tucker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Murray W. Johns.

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Potential conflict of interest statement

Sleep Diagnostics Pty Ltd is a research and development company that provided financial support for this research by way of part-time or full-time salaries for the researchers. Dr. Johns is also a share-holder of the company.

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Johns, M.W., Chapman, R., Crowley, K. et al. A new method for assessing the risks of drowsiness while driving. Somnologie 12, 66–74 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-008-0330-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11818-008-0330-3

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