Second Traffic Science Section

Research is conducted in the area of psychology and ergonomics, aiming to understand driver behavior and attitudes and to prevent traffic accidents through traffic safety education and training.

Driving while Fatigued

Reaction Time and Task Level

Long-time driving causes fatigue, but the degree of fatigue differs with the type of driving task. Experiments showed that not only difficult driving tasks, but also monotonous ones increase fatigue. It seems effective to drive with appropriate tension and to take a rest before fatigue occurs (every hour or two) to prevent fatigue as a result of long-time driving.

Characteristics of Older Drivers

Reaction Time to unexpected stimulus

We measured reaction time (RT) against expected and unexpected visual targets using a driving simulator. Older drivers take longer to react against unexpected targets than younger drivers, which means they need a longer time for reaction in an emergency situation. Most RTs of the older drivers are short against expected targets and long against unexpected ones. For older drivers, the results of a usual reaction time test may not reflect their ability to react in an emergency situation.