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Affiliation
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IFSTTAR, LBA UMRT24, Faculty of Medicine, Aix-Marseille University , Marseille , France. |
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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: We compared the differences in the braking response to vehicle collision between an active human emergency braking (Control condition) and a cruise control (CC) or an adaptive cruise control (ACC).
METHODS: In eleven male subjects, aged from 22 to 67 years, we measured the active emergency braking response during manual driving using the accelerator pedal (Control condition) or in condition mimicking a CC or ACC. In both conditions, we measured the brake reaction time (BRT), the delay to produce the peak braking force (PBD), the total emergency braking response (BRT + PBD), and the peak braking force (PBF). Electromyograms of leg and thigh muscles were recorded during braking. The Tonic Vibratory Response (TVR), Hoffman reflex (HR), and M-waves were recorded in leg muscles to explore the change in the sensorimotor control.
RESULTS: No difference in PBF, TVR amplitude, HR latency, and Hmax/Mmax ratio were found between the Control and CC/ACC conditions. On the other hand, BRT and PBD were significantly lengthened in the CC/ACC condition (240 +/- 13 ms and 704 +/- 70 ms, respectively) compared to Control (183 +/- 7 ms and 568 +/- 36 ms, respectively). BRT increased with the age of participants while the driving experience shortened PBD and increased PBF.
CONCLUSIONS: In male subjects, driving in a CC/ACC condition significantly delays the active emergency braking response to vehicle collision. This could result from higher amplitude of leg motion in the CC/ACC condition and/or by the age-related changes in motor control. Car and truck drivers must take account of the significant increase in the braking distance in a CC/ACC condition.
Language: en |