Waton A, Kakwani R, Cooke N J, Litchfield D, Kok D, Middleton H, Irwin L
Department of Orthopaedics, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Kayll Road, Sunderland SR4 7TP, UK.
J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2011 Jul;93(7):928-31. doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.93B7.25859.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of right leg restriction at the knee, ankle or both, on a driver's braking times. Previous studies have not investigated the effects of knee restriction on braking performance. A total of 23 healthy drivers performed a series of emergency braking tests in a driving simulator in either an above-knee plaster cast, a below-knee cast, or in a knee brace with an increasing range of restriction. The study showed that total braking reaction time was significantly longer when wearing an above-knee plaster cast, a below-knee plaster cast or a knee brace fixed at 0°, compared with braking normally (p < 0.001). Increases in the time taken to move the foot from the accelerator to the brake accounted for some of the increase in the total braking reaction time. Unexpectedly, thinking time also increased with the level of restriction (p < 0.001). The increase in braking time with an above-knee plaster cast in this study would increase the stopping distance at 30 miles per hour by almost 3 m. These results suggest that all patients wearing any lower-limb plaster cast or knee brace are significantly impaired in their ability to perform an emergency stop. We suggest changes to the legislation to prevent patients from driving with lower-limb plaster casts or knee braces.
本研究的目的是调查在膝盖、脚踝或两者处限制右腿活动，对驾驶员制动时间的影响。以往的研究尚未探讨膝盖受限对制动性能的影响。共有23名健康驾驶员在驾驶模拟器中进行了一系列紧急制动测试，他们分别佩戴了过膝石膏、膝下石膏或限制范围逐渐增大的膝关节支具。研究表明，与正常制动相比，佩戴过膝石膏、膝下石膏或固定在0°的膝关节支具时，总制动反应时间显著延长（p < 0.001）。从油门踏板移脚至刹车踏板所需时间的增加，在一定程度上导致了总制动反应时间的延长。出乎意料的是，思考时间也随限制程度的增加而延长（p < 0.001）。本研究中，佩戴过膝石膏时制动时间的增加，会使以每小时30英里的速度行驶时的停车距离增加近3米。这些结果表明，所有佩戴下肢石膏或膝关节支具的患者，进行紧急制动的能力均会受到显著损害。我们建议修改法规，禁止患者佩戴下肢石膏或膝关节支具时驾驶。
