The utility of the AusEd driving simulator in the clinical assessment of driver fatigue

Abstract

Several driving simulators have been developed which range in complexity from PC based driving tasks to advanced "real world" simulators. The AusEd™ driving simulator is a PC based task, which was designed to be conducive to and test for driver fatigue. This paper describes the AusEd driving simulator in detail, including the technical requirements, hardware, screen and file outputs, and analysis software. Some aspects of the test are standardized, while others can be modified to suit the experimental situation. The AusEd driving simulator is sensitive to performance decrement from driver fatigue in the laboratory setting, potentially making it useful as a laboratory or office based test for driver fatigue risk management. However, more research is still needed to correlate laboratory based simulator performance with real world driving performance and outcomes. © 2007 Psychonomic Society, Inc.