A question for fatigue researchers:
Years ago, Dinges mentioned in a talk that much of the research on fatigue in the transportation setting does not yield the same findings as studies done in the lab. It was a side point that he made briefly and so he did not give examples.
I am looking for the best papers on this subject, preferably meta-analyses of the two situations or a controlled comparison or, failing those, a good review. I know there are some factors present in transportation, but not in the lab, so that is not my question. Rather, I am seeking some hard evidence pointing to a clear difference between the two situations.
Thanks!
G'day Ben
The most recent comparison and probably the most tightly controlled study is "Hallvig D, Anund A, Fors C, et al. Sleepy driving on the real road and in the simulator--A comparison. Accid Anal Prev. 2013;50:44-50." This study demonstrated a number of differences between real vs simulated driving situations. Most notably simulated driving typically elicits low levels of arousal, this finding was also demonstrated in the Philip et al (2005) study.
The Swedish research group (Hallvig et al) went to some lengths to ensure a degree of similarity (e.g., time of day, vehicle consistency, driving scenario, etc) between the real and simulated driving sessions. But ultimately you have to keep in mind that the real driving session had two researchers sitting in the passenger seats for safety reasons. The presence of the research (while necessary for safety concerns) is a major issue regarding the comparisons of arousal and driving performance levels between the two situations. Zajonc's drive theory (social psychology) discusses the issue of heightened arousal due to the presence of an audience. If you critically consider the presence of passengers then a "true" comparison has yet to be undertaken.
The paper by "Philip P, Sagaspe P, Taillard J, et al. Fatigue, sleepiness, and performance in simulated versus real driving conditions. Sleep. 2005;28(12):1511-1516." is another good study looking at real vs simulated driving comparisons. However, the driving simulator was by today's standards is quite limited. Similarly the study by "Törnros J. Driving behaviour in a real and a simulated road tunnel--a validation study. 1998;30(4):497-503." examined real vs simulated driving however sleepiness (or fatigue) was not a focus of this paper by Törnros et al.
I am unaware of any meta-analyses that have been conducted on this topic.
All the best with your research Ben, I hope I have helped in some small way.
Kind regards
CW
Christopher:
Thank you kindly for your very helpful answer! I will get those articles. I suspected the two situations were yielding different results. I agree that arousal factors are very different in the two situations. Even if the researchers weren't in the vehicle w/ you, you can crash the vehicle, which you can't do in a simulator.
I can see it going the other way also, depending on the situation. I can see one being way less aroused in a vehicle than the sim in real life when driving alone in a vehicle that is rocking, vibrating, etc. We have all had that experience in the wee hours, I think.
Complex but interesting problem, to be sure.
FYI, I am more of a sensory guy so am interested in a very basic, low-level difference: the fact that you are moving in the vehicle. My main sensory interest is vestibular, but also visual surround motions which indirectly stimulate the vestibular brain.
Hi Ben,
Perhaps this (older) review paper could be of some interest to you although it is not exactly what you look for...
George, C. F. P. (2003). Driving simulators in clinical practice. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 7, 311-320. doi:10.1053/smrv.2001.0233
This report could be also relevant although it doesn't deal with driver fatigue. They reported that "Despite similar speed profiles surrounding the speed limit signs, there was a statistically significant difference between the speed in the car and in the simulator, with more rapid accelerations and decelerations in the simulator."
Ahlström C, Bolling A, Sörensen G, Eriksson O, Andersson A (2012). Validating speed and road surface realism in VTI driving simulator III. VTI rapport 745A. Linköping: the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI).
https://www.vti.se/en/publications/pdf/validating-speed-and-road-surface-realism-in-vti-driving-simulator-iii.pdf
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