Real-time driver drowsiness feedback improves driver alertness and self-reported driving performance

Abstract

Driver drowsiness has been implicated as a major causal factor in road accidents. Tools that allow remote monitoring and management of driver fatigue are used in the mining and road transport industries. Increasing drivers' own awareness of their drowsiness levels using such tools may also reduce risk of accidents. The study examined the effects of real-time blink-velocity-derived drowsiness feedback on driver performance and levels of alertness in a military setting. A sample of 15 Army Reserve personnel (1 female) aged 21-59 (M=41.3, SD=11.1) volunteered to being monitored by an infra-red oculography-based Optalert Alertness Monitoring System (OAMS) while they performed their regular driving tasks, including on-duty tasks and commuting to and from duty, for a continuous period of 4-8 weeks. For approximately half that period, blink-velocity-derived Johns Drowsiness Scale (JDS) scores were fed back to the driver in a counterbalanced repeated-measures design, resulting in a total of 419 driving periods under "feedback" and 385 periods under "no-feedback" condition. Overall, the provision of real-time feedback resulted in reduced drowsiness (lower JDS scores) and improved alertness and driving performance ratings. The effect was small and varied across the 24-h circadian cycle but it remained robust after controlling for time of day and driving task duration. Both the number of JDS peaks counted for each trip and their duration declined in the presence of drowsiness feedback, indicating a dynamic pattern that is consistent with a genuine, entropy-reducing feedback mechanism (as distinct from random re-alerting) behind the observed effect. Its mechanisms and practical utility have yet to be fully explored. Direct examination of the alternative, random re-alerting explanation of this feedback effect is an important step for future research.

Effects of sleep deprivation on executive functioning, cognitive abilities, metacognitive confidence, and decision making

“…Fatigue is manifested in performance decline, feelings of exhaustion, and body resource depletion. The negative impact of fatigue on decision performance (Aidman, Chadunow, Johnson, & Reece, ; Jackson, Kleitman, & Aidman, ; Johnson et al, ; Pilcher & Huffcutt, ) has been consistently reported as a primary factor underlying the decision errors that can lead to real‐world catastrophes. Decision making is known to be affected by the output of cognitive processing and by metacognitive monitoring and control of decision behaviours (e.g., Ackerman & Wolman, ; Cheng, Tallent, Bender, Tran, & Drake, ; Jackson, Kleitman, Stankov, & Howie, ; Koriat & Goldsmith, ; Stanovich & West, ; Thompson, Turner, & Pennycook, ).…”

Evaluating driver drowsiness countermeasures

“…In these situations, it may be difficult to keep the driver alert long enough to safely reach a destination, so countermeasures may need to promote the driver to take a break to rest. It is unclear what type of feedback might work best to promote longer-term behavioral change (though see Aidman et al 2015). The next phase of this NHTSA-sponsored research program is currently investigating the effectiveness of drowsiness countermeasures over longer drives.…”

Reliability of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Berlin Questionnaire for screening obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in the context of the examination of candidates for drivers

“…There is the ongoing research on mobile devices that can be built into cars and analyze some physiological parameters (e.g., percentage of eyelid closure, blink velocitybased score, average pupil diameter, electroencephalogram (EEG) signal, standard deviation of lateral position and steering wheel reversals) to warn a driver in advance [24][25][26].…”