Abstract
The article presents the standard method of the evaluation of car drivers’ psychomotor reaction times. A characteristic feature of this method is the ability to conduct tests using real vehicles equipped with mobile measuring apparatus. Measurements are carried out on people whose task is to initiate specific maneuvers (such as: a braking or turning maneuver, a combined braking and turning maneuver, as well as e.g., the use of an audio signal) in response to external stimuli coming from different directions. The sources of the stimuli are light signals emitted by variable message signs placed around the vehicle. The developed control and measurement equipment allows us to realize various and complex test scenarios. It generates stimulus sequences, assesses the correctness of the driver’s response and measures its time. This method allows us to obtain sets of results from tests carried out under different conditions and variable test durations. The possibility of testing a large number of participants in a relatively short time and in repetitive conditions allows for reliable statistical inference. The paper presents examples of research results obtained on the basis of few thousand tests carried out on a large group of respondents. The registered data was statistically processed and referred to the literature. A high degree of correlation between the analyzed results and the literature reports proves that the presented method may be a source of data for the analysis of phenomena related to the time of the driver’s response, especially the influence of various factors affecting its values.
Highlights
Driving a vehicle, especially in heavy urban traffic conditions, results in a significant number of stimuli that are important from the transport point of view reaching the driver
The test stand was validated by means of conducting tests on the reaction times of drivers performing basic maneuvers, such as turning or braking, and a complex turning maneuver with braking
The drivers were not affected by disruptive stimuli that could have an impact on the reaction time—such research scenarios are planned for later
Summary
Especially in heavy urban traffic conditions, results in a significant number of stimuli that are important from the transport point of view reaching the driver. They have to be isolated, assessed, a decision needs to be made and followed by a potential physical response. Each of the stages takes a specific amount of time. Their total determines the total reaction time. A much smaller number of papers appear in the field of analysis of steering response time [1,2] or complex reactions, e.g., braking and steering maneuvers [2]
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