SMOKING AND NIGHT DRIVING

Two experiments were performed with an apparatus simulating night driving conditions in order to study the effect of smoking on detection time and redetection time after glare. In the experimental sessions the subjects smoked two standard cigarettes during 15 min. There were no significant differences in results between these sessions and the control sessions without smoking. The conclusion is that the effect of tobacco smoking on the ability to detect objects on the road is from a practical point of view negligible.