@article{ref1,
title="Driver sleepiness--evaluation of reaction time measurement as a secondary task",
journal="Sleep",
year="2001",
author="Baulk, Stuart D. and Reyner, L. A. and Horne, James A.",
volume="24",
number="6",
pages="695-698",
abstract="The application of reaction time (RT) as a secondary task to determine sleepiness in drivers is of increasing interest, but is a problematic area. We assessed the extent to which RT reflected this sleepiness, and/or otherwise affected driving behaviour in sleep restricted, moderately sleepy people. They drove a real-car interactive simulator for two, two hour afternoon monotonous drives, with and without RT (counterbalanced). Simple auditory RT was used, with a semi-random inter-stimulus interval averaging 21/2 minutes. Lane wandering (driving &quot;incidents&quot;), subjective and EEG measures of sleepiness were obtained. For both conditions all three indices changed significantly during the course of the afternoon circadian &quot;dip&quot;. However, this was not reflected in RT, which remained relatively stable. Nevertheless, RT provided more &quot;stimulation&quot; for the sleepy driver, and significantly reduced subjective sleepiness, with a trend for fewer incidents and a more alert EEG. Possible reasons for the disparity in sensitivity between RT and the other measures are discussed. Under this experimental protocol, RT did not provide a useful guide to driver sleepiness; it was merely a mechanism for increasing task load and reducing monotony. The drivers' own insight into their sleepiness had more validity as a tool for assessing sleepiness.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0161-8105",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}