Evaluation of driver discomfort during long-duration car driving

The evolution of indices of fatigue, discomfort, and performance of subjects seated for long duration (150 min) in car seats were studied (n = 11). Four experimental configurations were used: with and without vibration for two seats (U, uncomfortable; C, comfortable). Surface electromyography (SEMG) data were recorded bilaterally from cervical erector spinae and external oblique muscles. Discomfort increased significantly during the trial, regardless of the experimental condition (p<0.05). Performance was significantly worse for seat U with vibration (p<0.05). The median frequency of SEMG signals did not change between experimental conditions or across time. It would appear that, either the level of discomfort experienced was insufficient to change either performance or SEMG measures, or that the large parameter estimation variance of the SEMG signals might have masked any underlying spectral change. Further refinement of the SEMG signal processing methodology may be necessary to be able to detect fatigue of postural muscles. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.