ERAnet countermeasures
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Stockholms universitet - Stressforskningsinstitutet |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 1 660 000 |
| Project duration | January 2009 - July 2011 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
This project aims to investigate two countermeasures against acute driving fatigue. The study is part of a EU - ERAnet initiative with Sweden, France, Norway, and Holland involved. The Swedish subproject involves the effects of ventilation and radio/music, which are the most common countermeasures applied while still operating the car (as opposed to napping and stopping for a break)
Results and expected effects
The study is expected to determine whether the most common countermeasures while stell at the wheel are effective and can be recommended. Other subprojects focus on, for example, blue light (Holland), rumble strips (The Netherlands).
Approach and implementation
The experiment is carried out using an instrumented car, equipped with sensors of driving behavior and with a camera for recording eye behavior (especially eye closures). Main variables of interest are lateral variability and involuntary line crossings. In addition eye movemtns and the EEG are physiologically recorded for analysis of sleepiness (long blinks, 4-12Hz intrusions into the EEG). Two conditions are run - one with and one without sleep loss (a day drive and a night drive). The duration of each drive is 90 minutes. At a predetermined level of sleepiness one of the two countermeasures is applied for 10 minutes each, in a balanced order and with washout-time inbetween. 20 participants - experienced drivers.