Scientists have proposed 59 volunteers to drive the simulator vehicle.
Experts from the University of Houston and the Texas transportation Institute found that, while driver distraction on TEXT messages increases the risk of getting into an accident, thoughtfulness or emotional distress, on the contrary, contribute to safe driving. The results were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Scientists have proposed 59 volunteers drive the car simulator four times the same stretch of road. In one case, the driver could safely drive without any distractions; in the other he was trying to do certain tasks, answer questions, designed to evoke emotional responses, or responded to text messages. All four trials the participant held alternately in random order.
In each case, except for normal driving conditions, the volunteer showed nervousness. In the case of text messages this has led to a dangerous deflection that increases the risk of being involved in a crash. However, other distractions have led even to more careful driving than normal.
According to scientists, one possible explanation for this paradox may be the activity zone of the brain known as the anterior cingulate gyrus. In the case when there is a conflict between different activities, this phase plays the role of a corrector of errors. In this situation, a conflict occurs because of cognitive, emotional and sensorimotor factors. This increases the physiological stress level of the driver, causing the reaction of “fight or flight” finds a way to twitching of the hands on the steering wheel.
Anterior cingulate gyrus corrects the movement of the arms, which leads to direct driving. However, this requires that the driver’s eyes stared at the road. In the case of text messaging this does not occur, and the brain may not correct the deflection. A kind of sixth sense denied to man, which increases the risk of an accident.
Scientists are going to start developing automatic systems that will assume the role of the cingulate gyrus, notifying the driver about dangerous vehicle deviation or jitter of the steering wheel.
