What is strenuous? Driving itself or the driving situation?

Kurzfassung

To avoid driver overload, assistance systems can be adapted regarding the driver’s current strain. Physiological and performance workload measures require special sensors and are problematic concerning sensitivity and specificity. Within the presented study the driver’s stress level was estimated in real-driving based on an analysis of different driving manoeuvres and environmental factors. The analyses show that different driving manoeuvres result in significantly different subjective strain levels. Furthermore, situational factors like the intention to overtake or road characteristics modify subjective strain systematically. This behaviour oriented approach to estimate strain seems to be an auspicious alternative to current measurements of strain.