What is the average reaction time when driving

This means that the car will travel 1. Brake Engagement Distance. Most reaction time studies consider the response completed at the moment the foot touches the brake pedal.

However, brakes do not engage instantaneously. There is an additional time required for the pedal to depress and for the brakes to engage. This is variable and difficult to summarize in a single number because it depends on urgency and braking style. In an emergency, a reasonable estimate is. Physical Force Distance. Almost half the distance is created by driver reaction time.

This is one reason that it is vital to have a good estimate of speed of human response. Below, I give some values which I have derived from my own experience and from an extensive review of research results. Response speed depends on several factors so there can be no single, universal reaction time value. Here is a list of factors which affect reaction time. In all cases, the times assume daylight and good visibility conditions. Expectation Reaction times are greatly affected by whether the driver is alert to the need to brake.

I've found it useful to divide alertness into three classes: Expected: the driver is alert and aware of the good possibility that braking will be necessary. This is the absolute best reaction time possible.

The best estimate is 0. Of this, 0. Unexpected: the driver detects a common road signal such as a brake from the car ahead or from a traffic signal. Reaction time is somewhat slower, about 1.

This is due to the increase in perception time to over a second with movement time still about 0. Surprise: the drive encounters a very unusual circumstance, such as a pedestrian or another car crossing the road in the near distance. There is extra time needed to interpret the event and to decide upon response. Reaction time depends to some extent on the distance to the obstacle and whether it is approaching from the side and is first seen in peripheral vision.

The best estimate is 1. Perception time is 1. The increased reaction time is due to several factors, including the need to interpret the novel situation and possibly to decide whether there is time to brake or whether steering is a better response. Lastly, there can be response conflict that lengthens reaction time. For example, if a driver's only possible response requires steering into an oncoming traffic lane to the left there may be a hesitation.

Urgency People brake faster when there is great urgency, when the time to collision is briefer. While brake times generally fall with greater urgency, there are circumstances where reaction time becomes very long when time-to-collision is very short. The most common situation is that the driver has the option of steering into the oncoming lane into order to avoid the obstacle.

The driver then must consider alternative responses, braking vs. Cognitive Load When other driving or nondriving matters consume the driver's attention, then brake time becomes longer. For example, on a winding road, the driver must attend more to steering the car through the turns.

Another major load on attention is the use of in-car displays and cell phones. There is no doubt that both cause delays in reaction times, with estimates ranging from 0.

Stimulus-Response Compatibility Humans have some highly built-in connections between percepts and responses. Pairings with high "stimulus-response compatibility" tend to be made very fast, with little need for thinking and with low error.

Low stimulus-response incompatibility usually means slow response and high likelihood of error. One source of many accidents is the human tendency to respond in the direction away from a negative stimulus, such as an obstacle on a collision course.

If a driver sees a car approach from the right, for example, the overwhelming tendency will be to steer left, often resulting in the driver steering right into the path of the oncoming vehicle. The stimulus-response capability overrides and the driver simply cannot take the time to observe the oncoming car's trajectory and to mentally calculate itsimple, reflexive uture position.

At the same time, this parameter cannot be accurately determined. Each event is characterized by a number of parameters, which in the case of response time are variable and individual for each driver. In the reconstruction of traffic events, the average values determined for a situation with similar conditions as the analyzed event are used.

Methods used to determine this parameter differ from each other in accuracy and the way the driving conditions are represented, so it is not possible to unequivocally determine which of them is the most appropriate. The aim of the study was to investigate the total response time of the driver in real-world driving conditions. They used a method combining representation of traffic conditions by free driving and computer analysis of the obtained measurements. In this way, the advantages of the two most popular test methods were combined.

The measurements confirmed the correct functioning of the research station and provided important data for the analyzed issue. The results of the study showed that there is no correlation between driving seniority and total response time.

The research group consisted of 15 drivers, different in terms of age and gender The drivers with the lowest and highest score had the same period of time. The described method has a wide range of possibilities to adapt it to the scenario of conducted tests.

Measurements carried out at work included 5 minutes of free driving by each driver, during which he had to react to a stimulus in the form of two lamps in different colors. In order to obtain more accurate results, it is possible to extend the time of each test and the period between individual measurements.

This way, the driver will be less likely to expect the signal. Moreover, it is possible to extend the stimulus by adding more lamps or a sound signal. This will make it more difficult to recognize the appropriate signal assigned to individual reactions. Another factor influencing the accuracy of measurements is the size of the research group.

Die Brems-Reaktionsdauer von Pkw-Fahrer. Der Ferkehrsunfall 12; Search in Google Scholar. Assesment of Integrated Pedestrian Protection System. PhD thesis. Czas reakcji kierowcy w warunkach awaryjnego hamowania samochodu badania w symulatorze jazdy samochodem.

Paragraf na Drodze. Prawne i kryminalistyczne problemy ruchu drogowego nr 11S; Modelowanie zachowania kierowcy w sytuacjach przed wypadkowych. Autobusy: Technika, Eksploatacja, Systemy Transportowe nr 6; The driver reaction time measurement experiences. V, Mazzae E. N, Baldwin G. Driver reaction time in crash avoidance research: validation of a driving simulator study on a test track.

Driver response in various environments estimated empirically. Paragraf na Drodze nr 6; L, Jurecki R. WSB im. Chrapka; Effect of driving speed on reaction time during motorway driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention 27 4 ; JSAE Review23 1 ; Praca zbiorowa. Your documents are now available to view. Confirm Cancel. From the journal Open Engineering. Cite this. Abstract The article presents the results of research on the total reaction time of drivers in real traffic conditions.

Keywords: drivers ; real traffic conditions ; reaction time. Table 1 Average response times to different types of stimuli [ 13 ]. Type of stimulus Response time interval [s] Simple 0,7 — 0,85 Complex, expected 1 — 1,15 Complex, unexpected. Table 2 Possible time values resulting from statistical analysis [ 12 ]. Table 3 Example of the delay build-up time [ 3 ]. Prochowski, 0,15 - 0,3 0,3 - 0,5 J. Unarski, W.

Table 4 Frequent ranges of the coefficient of adhesion [ 12 ]. Table 5 Comparison of reaction times in different traffic situations [ 12 ]. Figure 2 Lens set with the necessary cables [ 20 ]. Figure 3 Compound stimulus siren [ 18 ]. Figure 4 Light signal call control buttons [ 18 ]. Figure 5 Red light signal [ 18 ].

Figure 6 Green light signal [ 18 ]. Figure 7 Example of a screenshot from a sample analysis program with the selection of relevant areas [ 18 ]. Table 6 Summary of the results of driver A. The number of the measurement Perception time t r1 [s] Transfer time t r3 [s] Total response time t r [s] 1.

Table 7 Summary of the results of driver B. Table 8 Summary of the results of driver C. Figure 8 Summary of results of the average total reaction time. Table 9 Summary of the results of driver D. Table 10 Summary of the results of driver E. Table 11 Summary of the results of driver F. Table 12 Summary of the results of driver G. Table 13 Summary of the results of driver H. Table 14 Summary of the results of driver I. Table 15 Summary of the results of driver J.

Table 16 Summary of the results of driver K. Table 17 Summary of the results of driver L. Table 18 Summary of the results of driver M. Figure 9 Distribution of results in the individual response time intervals. Table 19 Summary of the results of driver N.

Table 20 Summary of the results of driver O. Table 21 Summary of test results. Table 22 Distribution of results in the individual response time intervals. Response time interval [s] Number of results 0 - 0, 0 0, - 0, 0 0, - 0, 0 0, - 0, 0 0, - 0, 5 0, - 0, 52 0, - 0, 60 0, - 0, 35 0, - 0, 25 0, - 0, 12 1, - 1, 2 1, - 1, 5.

Received: Accepted: Published Online: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4. Open Engineering , 10 1 , Open Engineering, Vol. Open Engineering. Copy to clipboard. The distance traveled during the brake reaction time can be calculated by multiplying the vehicle's initial speed by the brake reaction time. Both the brake reaction time and the braking distance are used in the calculation of the stopping sight distance.

Therefore, it is suggested that you read the braking distance module before proceeding to the stopping sight distance module. Brake Reaction Time The brake reaction time is the amount of time that elapses between the recognition of an object or hazard in the roadway and the application of the brakes.