Citation

Periago C, Jackson J, Cabutí C, Azcarate F, Castro E, Deiana F, Roig A. 27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV); April 3-6, 2023; Abstract #: 23-0316, pp. 9p. Washington, DC USA: US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2023 open access.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023 open access, US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Abstract

27th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV): Enhanced and Equitable Vehicle Safety for All: Toward the Next 50 Years

https://www-esv.nhtsa.dot.gov/Proceedings/27/27ESV-000316.pdf

Drowsiness is one of the mean causes of road accidents, accounting for 1,200 fatalities and 76,000 injuries per year, according to several authors [1]. This transitional state between awake state and the sleep state behaves physiological symptoms such as yawning, loss of neck muscle tone, pupillary constriction, ptosis, decreased attention, psychomotor and cognitive performance [2]. The purpose of the present study is to observe the effects of monotonous driving on long journeys on driver behaviour in order to develop driver monitoring systems capable of detecting symptoms of drowsiness and thus be able to reduce its negative impact on the road. The experiment is conducted on a dynamic driving simulator, where conditions were configurated according to the aim of having a monotonous environment free from any distraction. Participants drive for 90 minutes and every 5 minutes the experimenter ask about their level of KSS, using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, a standardized instrument that measures the participant's subjective level of drowsiness. Moreover, participants are instrumented to collect physiological data (ECG, EEG, EDA and respiratory rate) and an eye-tracking system monitors other drowsiness behaviours such as blinking or yawning. The test finish when 90 minutes passed, or participants reached an advanced level of drowsiness on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). The study consists of two phases of testing. The first phase, with 10 participants, aims to validate the test method for both sleep induction and the integrated data collection setup. The second loop of testing, planned in January 2023, will involve 20 participants with different age and gender representation and aim to try to define the sleep behaviour patterns in relation to the different levels defined by KSS. In this paper we present the preliminary results of first phase of testing.