Open AccessPhysiological and Psychological Effects of High Speed Driving on Young Male Volunteers
Author(s) -
Uchikune Masashi
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of occupational health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 1348-9585
DOI - 10.1539/joh.44.203
Subject(s) - heart rate , respiratory rate , acceleration , audiology , medicine , psychology , zoology , physics , blood pressure , biology , classical mechanics
Physiological and Psychological Effects of High Speed Driving on Young Male Volunteers: Masashi U chikune , Department of Precision Machinery Engineering, College of Science & Technology, Nihon University —The purpose of this study was to clarify the physiological and psychological effects on car‐drivers and their passengers. Heart rate, respiratory frequency, salivation, and subjective symptoms were measured before, 3 min and 6 min after starting at speeds ranging from 80 to 120 km/h. Vibration frequency and acceleration of the drivers and passengers’ heads were simultaneously determined. The heart rate and respiratory frequency ratios of the drivers travelling at 110 km/h were 1.04, and 1.15 at 6 min after starting, whereas those of the passengers were 1.06 and 1.15, respectively. With respect to the salivation rate ratios, a decrease was noted at all the travelling speeds of both drivers and passengers. In drivers travelling at 110 km/h, a repression value of 0.72 to the baseline of one was noted, and a repression value of 0.91 was noted in the passengers. Pleasant and unpleasant indexes, at 120 km/h was 1.26 times higher than that obtained at 90 km/h. It was considered that in all the measurements the variations were caused by physiological and psychological changes mainly induced by vibration frequency and acceleration of the head.