Effects of oxygen concentrations on driver fatigue during simulated driving

doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2004.09.003

Applied Ergonomics

Volume 36, Issue 1, January 2005, Pages 25-31

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2004.09.003 Get rights and content

Abstract

Driver fatigue has been the cause of traffic accidents. Despite this, the amount of time that drivers spend within cars has been increasing due to complex city life, traffic congestion, and particular occupational requirements. Consequently, fatigue and stress cannot be avoided. In present study, in order to find out the possibility for reducing fatigue while driving due to the supply of oxygen, driver fatigue resulting from the passage of time when different oxygen concentrations are supplied has been examined through subjective evaluations and reaction times using driving simulator for 10 male subjects. The results revealed the subjective fatigue feeling was highest in the low rate (18%) oxygen condition, while in the high rate (30%), it decreased to a certain extent. The feeling of sleepiness also showed the tendency to decrease somewhat in the case of the driving time having passed over 1 h in the high-rate conditions. Also, the reaction time for braking after being instructed to suddenly stop following more than 2 h of driving was reduced in the high-rate oxygen conditions compared to the low-rate oxygen condition. From the above results, it was shown that while driving a car, if the oxygen rate is lowered, fatigue is felt severely, and that in the case of supplying a high-rate of oxygen, the feeling of fatigue is lowered to some extent and the reaction time is shortened. It was suggested that the driver's fatigue can be reduced according to the supply of oxygen.

Introduction

Driving a car is a continuation of complex behaviors that require diverse abilities including perceptions, decision-making, and motor skills. As it induces continued high-level concentrated consciousness and a sense of tension regarding external stimuli, the driver comes to feel fatigue. Further, long-time driving (Hakkanen and Summala, 2001; Brown et al., 1970), insufficient sleep (Hakkanen and Summala, 2000; Sagberg, 1999; Fell and Black, 1997), changes of arousal level (McDonald, 1984; Akerstedt and Kecklund, 2001), boring driving situations (Reyner and Horne, 1998), the heat, noise, and vibrations (McDonald, 1984) generated by cars, and poisonous air within cars (Utell et al., 1994), have all been reported as causes of driving fatigue. Despite this, the amount of time that drivers spend within cars has been increasing due to complex city life, traffic congestion, and particular occupational requirements. Consequently, fatigue and stress cannot be avoided. Although traffic accidents related to fatigue accounted for approximately 10% of the total number of accidents according to the results of the investigation, the main causes of 25% of single vehicle accidents were fatigue (McDonald, 1984; O’Hanlon, 1978; Storie, 1984). In addition, it is reported that 39% of the accidents involving commercial vehicles are due to either drowsiness or inattention, and that these categories of accident accounted for 48% of the accident-related fatalities (Harris and Mackie, 1972). As a result, driver fatigue has continued to pose a serious problem with regard to finance and human terms.

Although research on fatigue has been conducted ever since the 1920s, the mechanism of fatigue is still unclear. It is said that the reason is because human fatigue, different from metal fatigue, has no indications or evidence and thus can only be inferred from circumstantial evidence (Lauber and Kayten, 1988). Even though it is also held that this uncertainty is because there is a lack of a good theory regarding driver fatigue (Brown, 1995), it seems that the theory of the difficulty of research on driving fatigue is much more feasible (Brown, 1995). In other words, inducing fatigue while maintaining safety on the road has many methodological difficulties. As a result, a significant amount of research that either executed simulated driving tasks in laboratories or used simulated vehicles to evaluate driver fatigue has been performed (Durenman and Boden, 1972; Stein, 1995; Roge et al., 2001).

Oxygen has been providing the energy needed in life activities by executing the role of an electronic acceptor in the final process of bio-reactor systems (Fujiwara and Maeda, 2001). With regard to the human–environment system, the oxygen rate in the atmosphere at the sea level altitude is, by floor area ratio, approximately 21%. In such an environment, the human's arterial oxygen saturation is maintained at over 95%. If the intake of oxygen becomes insufficient, when exercising, due to the invigoration of the physiological functions, a situation in which the supply is inadequate in relation to the amount demanded occurs, and therefore, causes fatigue. In addition, the energy necessary for basic metabolism does not get supplied, thereby causing anemia and organic impediments due to the low-oxygen environment within bodies (Fujiwara and Maeda, 2001).

Oxygen is, in particular, an environmental substance that is important for brain activities. It is said that the central nervous system is the most sensitive to the lack of oxygen. The lowering of the partial pressure of the arterial blood can cause changes of the brain functions, including those having to do with attentiveness, memory, and decision-making. As such, although it is generally thought that oxygen, as an element indispensable for the survival of human beings, has positive effects on the body and mental activities, it is surprisingly difficult to find scientifically illuminated research. In the past, the hyperbaric oxygen therapy had been used in the medical field. Not only that, recently there is a trend in which oxygen's effects are being applied in the wellness field, electronic products, and beverages. However, research relating to oxygen's influences on human sensibilities and physiological functions has not taken place.

Accordingly, in this study, in order to find out the possibility for reducing fatigue while driving due to the supply of oxygen, the driver fatigue in relation to the passage of driving time when supplying various different oxygen concentrations has been studied through subjective evaluations and reaction time tests.

Section snippets

Subjects

The subjects were 10 male college students who were physically healthy and had driving experiences of over 1 yr. Their average ages were 24.1±2.4, and their driving experiences were 4.1±1.2 years. In order to minimize the interference elements regarding fatigue, the subjects got a sufficient amount of sleep on the night before the experiment and abstained from strenuous exercise, smoking, caffeinated drinks, and the intake of drugs. By having each of the subjects participate in the same time

Subjective driver fatigue

While driving, the driver fatigue according to the oxygen concentration increased according to the passage of time in all oxygen conditions as shown in Fig. 2 ( $p < 0.05$ ). It was also shown that the fatigue was the most at the low-rate oxygen condition. In particular, after the driving time has passed 30 min, the fatigue at the low-rate oxygen condition was significantly higher than the oxygen conditions of the medium and the high rates ( $p < 0.01$ , $p < 0.05$ ).

The analysis of the feeling of fatigue

Discussion

Fatigue is a very complex phenomenon, making it difficult to define exactly. It is affected not only by excessive activity but also by the elements of psychology, social economy, and the environment (Brown, 1994). Early psychologists defined fatigue only as one aspect among the psychological phenomena and differentiated it from physical impairment. On the other hand, physiologists thought of fatigue only as the aspect of impairment for the term muscle fatigue, more specifically, dynamic muscle

Conclusions

In this study, comparisons of the driver's subjective feelings of fatigue during the various time periods are made according to the conditions of the oxygen concentration, and sleepiness and the reaction time were also examined. The results showed that the subjective fatigue was most acute in the case of the low concentration of oxygen (18%), while in the high concentration (30%) the perceived fatigue was relatively low. Sleepiness during more than 1 h of driving showed the tendency to decrease

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Effects of oxygen concentrations on driver fatigue during simulated driving

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Subjects

Subjective driver fatigue

Discussion

Conclusions

Accid. Anal. Prev.

Accid. Anal. Prev.

Biol. Psychol

Accid. Anal. Prev.

Accid. Anal. Prev.

Accid. Anal. Prev.

Age, gender and early morning highway accidents

J. Sleep Res.

Driver fatigue

Hum. Factors

Methodological issues in driver fatigue research

Effect of prolonged driving on overtaking criteria

Ergonomics

Fatigue in simulated car driving

Ergonomics

Effects of oxygen and refresh space for the elderly

J Hum. Life Eng.

Fitting the Task to the ManAn Ergonomic Approach