The Effects of Traffic Noise on Drivers' Cognitive Performance



Alimohammadi I¹ ; Mehri A² ; Sadat S³ ; Akbarzadeh A⁴ ; Hajizadeh R²
Source: Iran Occupational Health Published:2015

Abstract

Background and aims: Traffic noise is one of the most important environmental pollutants. World health organization has determined the health effects of community noise including cognitive performance disorders. The aim of this research was to study the effects of road traffic noise on peripheral perception and choice reaction time performance drivers. Methods: Thirty five male students from the faculty of health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, participated in the study. Peripheral perception and reaction time tests from Vienna test system package in the case of exposure to traffic and silent conditions were performed. The main variables of this research were field of vision, tracking deviation, incorrect reactions, omitted reactions, mean mental reaction time and mean motor time. Road traffic noise was recorded from main streets of Tehran by Sony ICD MAX20 voice recorder, and was played back in an acoustic room. Results: Comparison of result of peripheral perception after exposure to traffic noise showed slight difference in field of vision (p=0.85), tracking deviation (p=0.59), incorrect reaction (p=0.42) and omitted reactions (p=0.57), but they were not statistically significant. Also no significant differences were observed in mean mental reaction time (p=0.47) and mean motor time (p=0.49). Conclusion: Results of this study show that peripheral perception and choice reaction time variables were not affected by traffic noise. © 2015, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services. All rights reserved.