Driver reaction time

Traffic rules for dummies

Traffic rules Driver reaction

1. What is a stopping distance?

The stopping distance is the distance covered by the vehicle from the moment the driver detects the danger until it comes to a complete stop.

2. What is “driver reaction time”?

Driver reaction time is the time from the moment the driver detects a danger until the start of taking measures to prevent it.

3. Signs of driver fatigue?

• drowsiness;
• lethargy;
• dulling of attention.

The rules prohibit driving a vehicle while tired.

4. How does the speed of the overtaking and overtaken vehicles affect the length of the overtaking path?

The higher the speed of cars, the higher the distance traveled in the same time. At a speed of 36 km/h the car travels 10 m/s; 72 km/h - 20 m/s; 108 km/h - 30 m/s, etc. The higher the speed difference between the cars, the faster (safer) the overtaking.

5. How does the speed of a car affect the driver’s field of vision?

As the driving speed increases, the driver experiences a “tunnel effect” or a narrowing of the field of view, because the driver is forced to move his gaze further to a greater distance in order to control the road situation ahead. At the same time, the perception of information along the edges of the road and around it deteriorates.

6. How does fog affect the driver’s assessment of the distance to objects?

In fog, the distance to objects appears greater than it actually is, which may lead to an incorrect assessment of the road situation by the driver.

7. How does the driver perceive the speed of his vehicle during long, uniform movement on a flat road?

As the driver moves, he “gets used” to the speed of his vehicle and underestimates the speed of his movement, considering it lower than it actually is.

8. How does alcohol affect a driver’s reaction time?

Alcohol increases a driver's reaction time.

9. How does driver fatigue affect his attention and reaction?

The higher the driver's fatigue, the longer his reaction time, and his attention also becomes dull.

10. What is the generally accepted average driver reaction time?

According to the standards of forensic medical examination for road accidents, the driver’s reaction time is taken as 0.8 s. To simplify calculations, the average reaction time of a sober driver is taken as 1 s.

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Driver reaction time

@sh18548, I operate a VAZ 2106 2002 in Khakassia. I took it new, the frost was -43 in winter, +36 in summer. I've driven 320 thousand km, I haven't bored the engine yet, I add 0.5 liters of oil from change to change. Well, yes, I repair it on time and drive it every day. You know that some spare part wears out after several thousand km (that’s why I write that it should be repaired on time). On the way, there are only 2 reasons why you can stop - ignition and fuel. This is how it is solved - I stood for 10-15 minutes with the hood raised, did it and drove on to where I needed to go. If anything more serious can be found on any collective farm, you can find a “drunk grandfather”, so he will fix it in his garage. Well, the most important thing is that driving 1500 km in a day is not a problem. The cost of 1 km of mileage, taking into account all fines, car washes, rubber parts, repairs by hired craftsmen at service stations, replacement of spare parts and fuel (propane-butane + gasoline for warming up to 50 degrees) is 4.57 rubles.

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Most (roads) in Russia are SINGLE-LANE in one direction; there are a lot of slow-moving, emergency vehicles on them which, due to their design, cannot move faster than 10-20 km/h, hence the accident rate and corruption in the traffic police

The championship seems rather dubious to me)

Slaves aren't supposed to have cars - fuck you

and I would add one more must-have gadget to the car - an active cell phone detector while the car is moving. similar to the sensor for alcohol intoxication. I answered the call, turned on the phone to dial the number - the engine stalled! Accidents and the number of victims on the roads will drop significantly!

We'll be waiting for new items

My opinion is that a penny still travels and does not rot, so capitalism is crap compared to Socialism.

One in a million.

“Front-wheel drive has long shown superiority over rear-wheel drive”
You don’t have to read any further. It’s the rear-wheel drive that shows its superiority, but the front-wheel drive is cheaper, lighter, and easier to implement. That's why they put it on cheap cars.

Driver reaction time - what does it mean and what factors does it depend on?

Safe traffic on the roads is determined by many factors: compliance with traffic rules, mutual respect among drivers, and the behavior of pedestrians when crossing highways. One of the main conditions for accident-free transport movement is the driver’s reaction time.

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Most often, it is speed when choosing the right solution that prevents accidents on the roads. Here, the time period during which the driver manages to take the necessary actions plays an important role.

What is driver reaction time?

Driver reaction time is the period from the moment a hazard is detected until measures are taken to prevent it.

There is a complex process behind these words. Changes in the road situation are perceived by sight, less often by hearing. A signal or several signals enter the central nervous system, are processed, and a response is generated in the form of a series of actions with the steering wheel and brake pedal.

Average driver reaction time

A reaction is an action of the body in response to a stimulus. Reactions can be simple when there is one stimulus, or complex when there are several stimuli.

For example, simple braking requires 0.5 s. During this time, the driver manages to move his foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal. But the car continues to move. If his speed is 50 km/h, then he manages to travel 6.9 m in 1 s. — 13.9 m, in 1.5 s. — 20.8 m. And to avoid the traffic in front, you need to add steering control to braking, which increases the reaction time.

The driver's reaction time ranges from 0.3 to 1.5 seconds. These figures have emerged through numerous studies. The average reaction time is considered to be 1 second. There is such a thing as the standard time for perceiving a complex situation, equal to 0.8 s . It is used in forensic medical examination of road accidents.

Factors affecting driver reaction time

A person is a biological organism whose reactions are constantly changing and depend on various factors.

What influences the driver’s reaction and his perception of a dangerous situation:

1. Gender - men driving a vehicle react faster to the appearance of a danger signal, their reaction time is 1.8 seconds, and for women - 2.8 seconds, they perceive a simple situation almost the same.
2. Age - car owners whose age does not exceed 30 years perceive a dangerous situation more quickly than drivers aged 40 years and above. But older people make the right decisions faster, and their reaction times are stable. A young car enthusiast needs 0.17 seconds to solve a simple situation, and 1.54 seconds to solve a complex situation. By the age of 60, the indicators change: for a simple situation - 0.26 s., for a complex one - 2.05 s.
3. Experience - when an emergency situation occurs on the road, an experienced driver is always visible. He does not panic or fuss, his actions are quick and precise.
4. Physical training - sports aimed at developing reaction and endurance help driving enthusiasts to quickly perceive a dangerous situation and correctly select strategic actions.
5. The workplace is a collection of little things that can distract a motorist (an uncomfortable seat, a stuffy cabin, loosely closed doors, improperly installed cargo in the trunk, noisy passengers) that increase reaction time.
6. Time of day - a person’s biological clock is set in such a way that during the night period there is a decrease in concentration and he often wants to sleep. At night, the period of perception increases by 20 - 25%. The pre-dawn and sunset hours are also difficult for the driver. Therefore, it takes longer to react even to a simple traffic situation, and this can lead to an accident.
7. Weather conditions - rain, snow, fog, icy roads make driving difficult and increase the driver's reaction speed.
8. Medications - there is a large list of medications that should not be taken if you plan to drive. These may be the most common medications that relieve pain symptoms and help with colds.
9. Alcohol - It's no secret that alcohol and driving are incompatible concepts. A responsible driver will not allow himself to drink alcohol on the eve of a trip, much less drink while driving. Most road accidents occur while drunk, because alcohol reduces concentration, narrows vision, and slows down motor reflexes. The time to prevent an accident increases several times.
10. Working conditions - oddly enough, it is easier for a driver to react to a danger signal within the city than on country roads. A monotonous road relaxes and reduces the level of attentiveness, as a result of which the driver misjudges the situation.

The influence of fatigue on the driver's reaction

A person who loves driving will avoid unpleasant situations on the roads if he is attentive to his well-being. A painful state and fatigue reduce the perception of danger.

Signs of fatigue:

• drowsiness appears;
• lethargy is present;
• attention is dulled.

It is strictly forbidden to drive a car if the owner of the car feels tired. He may simply fall asleep at the wheel, and this most often leads to accidents on the roads. The correct thing to do in this situation is to sleep for 30-40 minutes.

But there are individual characteristics of the body: the type of higher nervous activity and temperament. They affect the time period during which the signal was received by the driver.

For example, a choleric person, who has a strong but unbalanced temperament, reacts faster to changes in the traffic situation by 25 - 30%, in contrast to a phlegmatic person, who is distinguished by a strong balanced type of nervous activity. But when choosing a solution, choleric people make more mistakes.

Driver reaction stages

The period of perception of a danger signal is divided into the following stages:

1. Assessment of the road situation - there must be an adequate and quick analysis, and most importantly, without panic, because further actions depend on this stage. The complexity and danger of the situation increases the time spent on assessment.
2. Decision making - the driver decides on actions to help avoid an accident. Driving experience will tell you the optimal and correct maneuver.
3. Responsiveness - implements a solution appropriate to a given situation.

Tips for drivers

1. When planning a trip, you need to minimize the influence of factors that reduce concentration.
2. If the period of perception of a dangerous signal exceeds the standards, you must choose a safe driving speed.
3. Try not to drive in a state of emotional arousal (excitement, anger, irritation). This reduces the level of danger perception.

A few seconds are enough to prevent a tragedy. The less time spent, the more lives saved.

But, as they say, forewarned is forearmed. Let the information received help drivers improve their skills.

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What is meant by driver reaction time and how many seconds is the average time

A deer, a cat, a child's ball, or the child himself jumping onto the road creates a stressful situation for the person driving the car. A sharp turn increases the chances of a catastrophic outcome several times. The situations described above characterize moments when the driver will need to react extremely quickly. But he won’t be able to instantly turn the car to the side - there is a physiological concept - the driver’s reaction time. In addition, the car also has its own braking speed.

Driver reaction time, determining what it depends on

Reaction time represents the moment when the driver has already noticed changes on the road, but has not yet had time to do anything. One can only imagine what is happening during this period in the head of the driver, who is now slowly realizing that he is a killer within 5 minutes.

Any numbers will be purely individual and may depend on many factors. So, the reaction speed is greatly influenced by the mental state, physical health, the presence of distractions or problems in the transport itself (unadjusted brakes, for example).

Factors that reduce the reaction rate:

1. Times of Day. Early morning (4 - 5 am) has a “soporific” effect, which increases the amount of time spent on thinking. Twilight makes it difficult to see danger in advance.
2. Mental component. A recent quarrel, difficulties at work, threatening to be late if you don’t speed up. A person who is tired from the previous day and worried about upcoming events will be distracted by something a little different.
3. Physical state. This refers to illness, sedatives, tranquilizers taken a few hours ago, as well as alcohol intoxication. All of this, individually or in combination, significantly reduces the reaction.
4. Atypicality. Confusion over an unusual situation makes the problem worse.
5. Gender, experience

Here you can add the character of a person and his psychotype. Climatic factors must also be taken into account. Ice, rain - everything that worsens the grip of tires on the road and reduces vision negatively affects the control of the car.

How the driver reacts to the traffic situation

There are two obstacles that a person driving must overcome in order to respond to a “stimulus”: his own brain and muscles. So, the signal needs time to travel from the eye (if danger was seen) to the central nervous system (central nervous system). There the signal is processed and only after that it goes to the muscles. They, in turn, make a movement, as a result of which it takes 0.5 seconds to move the foot from the gas to the brake pedal, which in itself is a lot.

The entire signal path takes a fraction of a second, but it is they that become decisive in a stressful situation. It was noted that inexperienced or insecure individuals reacted faster: they were accustomed not to rely on their perceptions and to play it safe in unclear situations.

If there is a threat of an accident, this feature will play into their hands, since the brain will not have time to process the information before it immediately decides to act out of habit - to play it safe.

Reaction process steps

The entire reaction time is divided into stages:

1. Assessment of the situation.
2. Decision-making.
3. Response.

At the first stage, information is transferred from the sensor to the brain and processed. True, it is one thing to think about the situation constructively and, in accordance with the decision subsequently made, to do it. Panic is something completely different. It occurs when unusual information enters the brain, but it is not trained to act according to the situation. Most of us rarely encounter anything unusual, so we get stuck in stressful situations.

The second stage is making a decision in accordance with the situation. The driver decides whether he needs to brake, sound the horn or it will scare the pedestrian, turn off the road or continue driving. Under normal conditions, the brain may have enough time to make a decision, reevaluate the situation, and then change it. In a critical situation, there is no time to change it and when the driver tries to do this, he begins to rush about. And this also takes time.

The final stage is the immediate reaction, where the driver acts to prevent an accident. All psychomotor activity is aimed at accelerating the onset of the final stage.

Driver reaction time

The driver's reaction time means the time separating the signal about a change in the road situation, received by the driver's senses, and the beginning of its influence on the vehicle controls. Simple formulation, isn't it? Meanwhile, it hardly reveals the features of the driver’s reaction, the time spent on it in different conditions, as well as in the same situation, but under the influence of different factors. You need to know all this to minimize the likelihood of a traffic accident. Knowledge in this case is truly the power that saves human lives.

The complete signal flow diagram is as follows. Changes in the road situation are perceived primarily by the driver’s visual organs. (The exception is situations when the source of danger is outside the driver’s field of vision; then the decision-making time is counted from the perception of the hearing organs.)

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A set of signals enters the central nervous system of the driver, where, based on them and on the basis of the sum of acquired knowledge and experience, a response is formed - in the form of a series of actions performed by the driver with the steering wheel, brake pedal, etc.

However, the human body is a complex biological system, and instantaneous transmission of a danger signal through it is almost impossible. It is enough to mention the time it takes to process information in the brain. Currently, the examination uses the standard driver reaction time of 0.8 s. But real life is always strikingly different from theoretical calculations.

For example, ideally, to brake, the driver just needs to move his foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal - and spend no more than 0.5 seconds on this. If you need to go around an obstacle, control actions will be more difficult, and accordingly, the time to complete them will increase...

In terms of reaction time, male drivers are slightly better than women - by about 0.05 s. The fine halves, however, are ahead in terms of control accuracy.

Young people detect signals faster and process information. However, older people spend less time making the right decisions, and their reaction time is more stable.

No knowledge of traffic rules and technology can replace the driver’s “experience, the son of difficult mistakes.” An experienced driver can be immediately recognized by his calm, disciplined, confident, and sometimes even intuitive driving. The ability to predict the situation on the road, acquired over the years, significantly reduces the reaction time of an experienced driver.

Regular exercise and sports have a healing effect on the body. As a result, physically healthy drivers react faster to danger.

City traffic is a constant change in the road situation. Therefore, the driver, having prepared himself for this in advance, reacts better to a sudden danger than being “lulled” by a long and monotonous intercity route.

Night is a time of limited illumination, which even the most intense artificial light cannot compensate for. In addition, nature has set the biological clock of the human body to rest at night. In total, this dulls the driver's vigilance by an average of five times. Dawn and twilight times are very treacherous in this regard.

Adverse weather conditions

Anything that limits visibility on the road - rain, snowfall, fog, dust storm - automatically increases the time required for the driver to react while driving. Poor adhesion of tires to the road surface can instantly turn a harmless situation into a threatening one.

A powerful brake on the driver’s reaction time—from twice as long or more. Even in small doses. This is quite enough to commit a crime. For no one has canceled the fact that a drunk person driving is a criminal.

The same unconditional evil for the driver as alcohol - it reduces the reaction to the road situation significantly. Perhaps the law adopted by the State Duma to increase the fine for talking on the phone while driving will change the situation for the better. Although, perhaps, they should have done it right away, as in the Netherlands: there they are punished with two weeks in prison or a fine of 2 thousand euros.

There is an impressive list of medications, after taking which driving is contraindicated. (And this should be reflected in the information attached to the drug.) Even seemingly harmless cold remedies and painkillers can significantly prolong the driver’s reaction time. Not to mention psychotropic drugs. But stimulants are no less dangerous: after taking them, temporary excessive excitement is replaced by a sharp decline. Moreover, if the driver feels unwell, is it worth driving in such a state at all?

Another factor under the influence of which it is extremely undesirable to hit the road. For example, physical work (many drivers also work as loaders) can increase reaction time by 0.1 s. Another type of fatigue is very often recorded in accident reports - “fell asleep at the wheel.” Truck drivers should note that continuous 16-hour operation increases reaction time by 0.4 seconds. This problem should be solved by tachographs that monitor drivers’ rest and work time.

The better its ergonomics, the better the driver reacts to the road situation. A seat suitable for the driver’s height, a ventilated cabin, and the absence of distracting objects are the components of an accident-free ride. If the transport is freight, reliable cargo securing, eliminating extraneous noise on the road, also contributes to low driver fatigue.

A range of musical compositions create a favorable, working atmosphere in the cabin, maintain increased attention and reduce fatigue. However, this applies mainly to intercity routes; in the city, music is more of a distraction. And one more thing: the louder the music, the worse the driver’s reaction time.

Their effect is similar to music. There are aromas that are relaxing and others that are invigorating. The right scent will contribute to concentration on the road.

The profession of a car driver is one of the most common in the world, at the same time one of the most risky. Every day it requires knowledge of all its subtleties, nuances, an idea of ​​how the body reacts to the variability of the road situation, what factors and how they control the driver’s reaction time. But without all these components, neither true mastery nor driving on the roads of the 21st century without mistakes and emergency incidents is unthinkable.