Monitoring drivers’ mental workload in driving simulators using physiological measures

Many traffic accidents are caused by, or at least related to, inadequate mental workload, when it is either too low (vigilance) or too high (stress). Creating variations in mental workload and accident-prone driving for research purposes is difficult in the real world. In driving simulators the measurement of driver mental workload is relatively easily conducted by means of physiological measures, although good research skills are required and it is time-consuming. The fact that modern driving simulator environments are laboratory-equivalent nowadays allows full control with respect to environmental conditions, scenarios and stimuli, and enables physiological measurement of parameters of mental workload such as heart rate and brain activity. Several examples are presented to illustrate the potential of modern high-standard driving simulator environments regarding the monitoring of drivers’ mental workload during task performance.