Title: A pilot study of low workload in train drivers
Abstract: This study investigated the types of train driving tasks and situational factors that might lead to low workload and reduced driver performance. It also investigated the effect that mitigation designed to increase workload had on train drivers experiencing a relatively undemanding train driving scenario. The mitigation chosen was a series of task-related questions that were administered verbally by the experimenter, at fixed time intervals. Ten recruited participants were required to complete two drives on Southern Railway’s train simulator: one baseline drive and one in which the mitigation was applied. Subjective and physiological measures were taken for both the baseline and mitigation drives, as well as performance measures such as speed and response to critical events. The results of the experiment did show that the mitigation had an effect on the way participants felt. When compared with their baseline drive, participants reported overall higher ratings for perceived workload on the NASA-TLX questionnaire after the mitigation drive. Significantly higher ratings were reported for the perceived performance and effort categories. Self-reported sleepiness showed a delayed onset in the mitigation drive, when compared with the baseline drive. Self-reported arousal levels were higher after the mitigation drive. The results from the study suggest that applying a mitigation technique increases workload during a monotonous train driving scenario and has a positive impact on subjective measures of low workload, low arousal and fatigue.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-05-29
Language: en
Type: article
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