Evaluation of driver stress intervention with guided breathing and positive comments

Abstract

While many methods have been proposed to detect driver stress with high accuracy, few studies have explored how to mitigate stress during driving effectively. This study proposed and evaluated two driver stress intervention methods, i.e., auditory Positive Comments w/o haptic Breathing guidance (BPC and PC). Sixty drivers were randomly assigned to four groups (i.e., no stress, stressful but no intervention-NI, PC, and BPC) and completed a simulated driving task with their physiological, psychological, and behavioral data collected. Driver stress was effectively induced by challenging simulated driving events. Haptic guidance provided by smartwatches efficiently regulated the breathing rate to the target. Engaging in the intervention was associated with increased RMSSD and did not worsen driving performance. Participants perceived moderate to large comfort effects. The complexity of driving scenarios should be considered for choosing interventions. Breathing intervention was less effective when complex maneuvers were required than normal driving. The findings provided implications regarding the design of in-vehicle stress intervention systems for intelligent transportation.