Journal article
Deterioration in Driving Performance During Sleep Deprivation Is Similar in Professional and Nonprofessional Drivers
ME Howard, ML Jackson, P Swann, DJ Berlowitz, RR Grunstein, RJ Pierce
Traffic Injury Prevention | Published : 2014
Abstract
Objective: There is some suggestion in the literature that professional drivers might self-select to be more resistant to the effects of sleep deprivation; however, this question has not been directly examined. The current laboratory study aimed to compare performance changes during acute sleep deprivation between professional and nonprofessional drivers. Methods: Twenty volunteer male professional drivers and 20 nonprofessional drivers performed a simulated driving task (AusEd) and the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) during 24 hours of continuous wakefulness. Ratings of subjective sleepiness were also examined. Results: There was a progressive and significant increase in lateral lane posit..
View full abstractGrants
Funding Acknowledgements
We dedicate this paper to the memory of Professor Rob Pierce, who died defending his home in the bushfires in Melbourne, February 2009. This study was supported by a grant from VicRoads. We thank Dr. David Joffe and colleagues for providing the AusEd software and Dr. John Gora for his assistance with collecting the data. This study was funded by Vic Roads, Melbourne, Australia.