Citation

Scully JC, Boyd DM. Proc. Am. Assoc. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1966; 11: 31-35.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1966, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

My curiosity about "reaction times," or "reflex reaction times," was aroused in 1957 when I became interested in S.C.C.A. competition speed events. The terms, "Lightning Reflexes," "Fast Reaction Time," "Fantastic Reflexes," etc., are encountered in any description of athletic performances and to these mysterious terms are attributed the greatest share of the inherent athletic prowess responsible for all championship performance. A searching review of physiology texts failed to disclose a practical definition of "reflex time" or "reaction time" and the methods of measuring reaction times were so complex that only with elaborate experimental laboratory equipment could the reaction times be determined.

The results of this four-year study of reaction times would imply a definite co-relationship between the reaction time and the individual's performance. More specifically, the shorter the reaction time, the more likelihood that the performance will be proficient. And the longer the reaction time, the more accident-prone is the driver. (This latter statement is derived from comparative study of driver's school enrollees.)

Additional factors influencing reaction time were concomitantly studied as a natural extension of the possible usefulness of the tests. These factors include the influence of (A) age, (B) fatigue, (C) excess alcohol consumption, (D) hyperthyroidism, (E) hypertension, (F) neurasthenia. The average reaction time for these influential factors are stated.