The project will conduct tests on closed test tracks to explore transportation-related factors, and develop a large-scale, moving-base simulator platform for standardized and safe experimental tests of such factors. A mixed methods approach is used; the quantitative data focuses on stress, workload, driver behavior and medical care performance.
Measures that quantify driving safety, such as driving speed and steering behavior, will be used to assess driving behavior. Sensors integrated in the simulator environment will be used to collect physiological correlates of stress, such as activation of the sympathetic nervous system as measured via heart and breathing rate, skin conductance and dilated pupils. Validated questionnaires will be used for subjective ratings (NASA Task Load Index for workload, Dundee Stress State Questionnaire for stress). Qualitative data is collected through interviews. The project is a collaboration with the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI).
