US research on driver fatigue
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• The PV0A has now obtained the results of some research into driver fatigue undertaken by the Systems Research Group, Department of Industrial Engineering, Ohio State University. The research deals with extended driving during a 24-hour period; each subject was asked to complete eight round trips of about 160 miles and, throughout the whole period, the only rest was a 15-minute break at the end of each trip. And part of this break time was occupied in completing a form designed to obtain the driver's subjective opinion about his own state of tiredness.
The Research Group was especially interested in the problem of keeping drivers awake and alert during long, monotonous journeys. For this reason the test site was a section of the Columbus-Cincinnati interstate highway which has little variation in pattern and landscape. The drivers were not professional long-distance men but were given a financial incentive to complete the 24-hour driving target.
The research team tested the drivers medically before the trials, and used an oscillograph to give a permanent record of driver performance judged in relation to the use of controls and the maintenance of a steady driving speed.
In discussion and interpretation of the results of the trial, the researchers' comment: "Possibly one of the most interesting facts to come from this research is that the subject drivers were able to drive as long and as satisfactorily as they did. Of the seven subjects participating, only two were unable to finish the prescribed task of driving 24 hours. These two subjects managed to drive for about 21 hours each before they asked or were told to stop."
In another experiment a driver was deliberately kept awake for 24 hours before starting his driving stint and even under these circumstances was able to complete four round trips, totalling 12 hours driving "before he felt it necessary to quit".
The PVOA says that the importance of these experiments, taken in conjunction with other research in this field, is to show that the legal limits on driving hours under the 1960 Road Traffic Act do not present any risk to public safety. They therefore feel that there is no call for urgency in introducing the shorter hours prescribed by the 1968 Transport Act.