Pnina Gershon Explores Fatigue and Driving at UN Talk
by Niels Wu
AgeLab Research Scientist Pnina Gershon presented research on fatigued driving at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Driver Drowsiness and Distraction Warning Systems Working Group (DDAW).
Gershon began her presentation by highlighting that fatigue is difficult to define: it is not directly observable most of the time and can be caused by both under- and over-stimulation. Fatigue can also manifest across physiological, performance, and subjective measures in ways that don’t necessarily synchronize. Thus, Gershon emphasized that multimodal analysis is needed to capture the impacts of fatigue on driving safety.
Gershon then presented studies in which the effectiveness of two interventions, an interactive cognitive task similar to a trivia game and a caffeine drink combined with a rest break, were tested on drivers in a driving simulator. In each study, drivers were asked to drive in a low-stimulation setting such as long, straight roads with low traffic for an extended period. Then, the intervention was introduced. In both cases, physiological, performance, and subjective markers of fatigue were reduced, showing that the interventions were able to increase alertness and stabilize driving performance.
Next, Gershon presented findings from a survey study where professional and nonprofessional drivers were asked about strategies they use to combat fatigue while on the road. While some strategies like listening to the radio or opening a window were common across both groups, professional drivers were significantly more likely to adopt strategic, planned coping methods like napping, smoking, or consuming caffeine. Nonprofessionals, on the other hand, relied more on reactive or social habits like talking to a passenger or on the phone. The strategies used by the professionals were shown to be much more effective.
Gershon concluded that as automated systems in vehicles take on more driving tasks, keeping humans alert is becoming even more critical. Physiological, performance, and subjective metrics are all sensitive to fatigue but show changes on different timescales. This, a combined approach allows for subtle shifts to be detected in real time and for interventions to be adapted to the driver’s actual fatigue state.
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