The relationship between driving performance and the Johns Drowsiness Scale as measured by the Optalert system

Driver drowsiness is a contributing factor in a significant number of single and multiple vehicle crashes. It is estimated that driver drowsiness accounts for around 20 to 30 percent of all traffic crashes in Australia, at a huge cost to society. A promising countermeasure designed to reduce the incidence of drowsiness-related crashes is a system that can detect drowsiness and issue warnings accordingly. Sleep Diagnostics, Pty Ltd, have developed an in-vehicle drowsiness detection and warning system called Optalert. The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) was approached by Sleep Diagnostics to conduct an evaluation of the Optalert system (glasses version 5, software version 4.1.5, algorithm version 08075) in terms of its effectiveness in predicting a breakdown in driving performance, using the MUARC advanced driving simulator.

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