A pre-drive ocular assessment predicts alertness and driving impairment: A naturalistic driving study in shift workers

This study assessed the efficacy of a pre-drive ocular assessment for predicting sleep-related impairment in naturalistic driving, in rotating shift workers. Fifteen healthcare workers drove an instrumented vehicle for 2 weeks, while working a combination of day, evening and night shifts. The vehicle monitored lane departures and behavioural microsleeps (blinks>500 ms) during the drive. Immediately prior to driving, ocular parameters were assessed with a 4-min test. Lane departures and behavioural microsleeps occurred on 17.5 % and 10 % of drives that had pre-drive assessments, respectively. Pre-drive blink duration significantly predicted behavioural microsleeps and showed promise for predicting lane departures (AUC = 0.79 and 0.74). Pre-drive percentage of time with eyes closed had high accuracy for predicting lane departures and behavioural microsleeps (AUC = 0.73 and 0.96), although was not statistically significant. Pre-drive psychomotor vigilance task variables were not statistically significant predictors of lane departures. Self-reported sleep-related and hazardous driving events were significantly predicted by mean blink duration (AUC = 0.65 and 0.69). Measurement of ocular parameters pre-drive predict drowsy driving during naturalistic driving, demonstrating potential for fitness-to-drive assessment in operational environments.
Source: Accident Analysis and Prevention - Category: Accident Prevention Source Type: research