Influence of alarm beep sounds with various tempos on reaction time of driving simulator users

Right before a car accident, can an effective warning beep that informs about the emergency make the drivers notice it in a shorter reaction time? A previous study reported that an intermittent beeps sound of 128 BPM could shorten the observers' reaction times to notice black circles on a white computer screen compared to the reaction times in the case of 80 BPM. However, this knowledge can not necessarily be introduced to automobile safety because the previous study did not give the subjects any other task except for the task in which the reaction time was measured. In this study, we focused on the tempo and duration of intermittent beeps, and our purpose was to confirm the effect of the beeps on the reaction time in observers using a simple driving simulator. Results showed that intermittent beeps could not affect the reaction time significantly independent of the tempo compared to a single beep sound. It was the same result even if the duration was increased. We thought that the tempo or the duration do not relate to the reaction time when the drivers are well awake. In order to make an effective warning beep for automobile safety, we must pay attention to the drivers' wakefulness.

reaction time

tempo

simulator

beep sound