CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China; Department of Psychology, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China; Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, 928 2nd Street, Xiasha Higher Education Park, Hangzhou, 310016, China.
Department of Systems and Industrial Engineering, University of Arizona, United States.
Appl Ergon. 2019 Oct;80:43-49. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.04.015. Epub 2019 May 16.
Diabetes can undermine people's ability to drive safely, but most previous studies have focused on its deterioration of the central nervous system. This study sought to investigate how diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), a common complication of diabetes characterized by reduced sensitivity of the limbs, can influence people's braking behavior and other safety-related measures of driving. In addition, it also tested how such a deteriorating effect can be reduced by using certain pedal layout designs. In total, 29 healthy drivers and 31 drivers of type 2 diabetes matched in demographic variables were invited to participate in this study. The participants with type 2 diabetes (they are from here on out referred to as "patients")were then split into two subgroups based on the severity of DPN using the median of the Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments Examination (SWME) scores. All three groups of participants finished a series of vehicle-pedestrian conflict tasks in a driving simulator using nine different types of pedal layouts. These layouts varied in the lateral distance between the accelerator and the brake (45 mm, 60 mm, and 75 mm) and the width of brake pedals (50 mm, 70 mm, 90 mm). The results showed that patients with serious DPN had longer brake reaction times (BRT) and shorter minimum distance-to-collision (DTC) as compared to the other two groups. However, the effects of such a disadvantage varied across different pedal layouts. When the accelerator-brake distance was 45 mm, patients with serious DPN showed no compromised driving performance as compared to other two groups. In conclusion, we found the DPN could undermine driving performance of participants with type 2 diabetes, and a closer accelerator-brake lateral distance (45 mm) may be an optimal choice for them to counteract such a negative influence.
糖尿病可能会削弱人们安全驾驶的能力，但大多数先前的研究都集中在糖尿病对中枢神经系统的损害上。本研究旨在调查糖尿病周围神经病变（DPN）——一种常见的糖尿病并发症，其特征是四肢敏感性降低——如何影响人们的制动行为和其他与安全相关的驾驶措施。此外，还测试了通过使用特定的踏板布局设计如何减少这种恶化的影响。总共有 29 名健康驾驶员和 31 名 2 型糖尿病患者（以下简称“患者”）在人口统计学变量上相匹配，受邀参加了这项研究。然后，根据 Semmes-Weinstein 单丝检查（SWME）评分中位数，将 2 型糖尿病患者分为两个 DPN 严重程度亚组。所有三组参与者都在驾驶模拟器中使用九种不同的踏板布局完成了一系列车-行人冲突任务。这些布局在油门和刹车之间的横向距离（45mm、60mm 和 75mm）和刹车踏板的宽度（50mm、70mm 和 90mm）上有所不同。结果表明，与其他两组相比，严重 DPN 的患者的刹车反应时间（BRT）更长，最小碰撞距离（DTC）更短。然而，这种劣势的影响因不同的踏板布局而有所不同。当油门-刹车距离为 45mm 时，严重 DPN 的患者与其他两组相比，驾驶性能没有受到影响。总之，我们发现 DPN 可能会削弱 2 型糖尿病患者的驾驶表现，而更接近的油门-刹车横向距离（45mm）可能是他们抵消这种负面影响的最佳选择。
