Drivers' attitude towards caffeine chewing gum as countermeasure to driver task-related fatigue

Abstract: Driver fatigue is one of the major contributors to road accidents. In this study, we refer to task-related fatigue, in contrast to sleep-related fatigue. Sleep-related fatigue decrements in driving performance are related to the circadian rhythm, sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation or restriction. Task-related fatigue depends on driving conditions: active and passive task-related fatigue may arise according to the combination of driving task and driving environment. Active task-related fatigue is related to overload driving conditions, and passive task-related fatigue with underload ones. Several countermeasures have been proposed to face the problem of driver fatigue, such as taking a nap or caffeine beverages. The intake of caffeine has shown the enhancement of vigilance and choice reaction time. Those enhancements have an effect within 5-10 min in a caffeine chewing gum compared with 30 to 45 min in coffee. The enhancement in alertness within 5 min is crucial and potentially can reduce sleep related car accidents. Recent study showed that the caffeine effect is directly related to driving performance in monotonous conditions. In this study, two groups of drivers were asked to provide their preferences on several products that might positively affect their driving performance on long and monotonous conditions. The first group composed of participants that drove a driving simulator and actually consumed the products. The second group was composed of questionnaire responders that were presented with animations replicating the first group's actual driving. Both groups’ participants preferred to consume coffee or regular chewing-gum over caffeine chewing gum when asked at the beginning of the experiment (or survey). Drivers that actually consumed the products changed their attitude in favour of caffeine chewing-gum. On the other hand, the drivers that participated in the survey did not change their attitude, but rather changed their attitude with regards to the safety in using caffeine chewing-gum.

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