A recent study noted that a program that combines computer and driving simulator training may reduce the risk of ADHD percentage of teens involved in car accidents. Teenagers who participated in the training had a nearly 40 percent lower risk of being involved in a crash compared to those who did not receive the training.
ADHD refers to inattention and persistent hyperactivity and impulsive behavior that interfere with function or development. It is known that teenagers are 4 times more likely to have a car accident than adults, and ADHD teenagers are 2 times more likely to have a car accident than ordinary teenagers. times. A big factor in this higher crash risk is that teenage drivers, especially those with ADHD, are distracted and take their eyes off the road for extended periods of time while driving.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), was carried out by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, USA. The driving simulator, called Focus and Attention Learning (FOCAL), is a computer program that teaches the average teenager to limit long periods of looking away from the road. The researchers enhanced this training so that the simulator provides more immediate feedback , this combined training is called FOCAL+.
A total of 152 adolescents participated in the study, and 76 adolescents in the FOCAL+ program performed 5 sessions of driving simulator training. During computer training, teens were presented with a horizontally split screen with a view of the road on the top half and a map on the bottom half.
Participants were told to press the space bar and identify the street on the map. When the space bar was pressed, the map filled the screen and the road was no longer visible. Pressing the space bar once more restored the map display. Switching between the two represents multitasking while driving, and an alarm sounds when the map screen is displayed for more than 3 seconds.
Driving training reduces distraction and crash risk in teens with ADHD
In the driving simulator training that follows, participants sit in front of a console with a steering wheel and gas pedal and drive on a simulated road. Participants wore special glasses that tracked eye and head movements, and during a simulated drive, they had to identify the number of random symbols on the dashboard. If they took their eyes off the road for more than 2 seconds, an alarm would go off, and participants who scored poorly had to practice repeatedly until their scores improved.
Seventy-six adolescents assigned to a control group received a driver safety instruction program on a computer, followed by street exploration in a driving simulator. One month following completing the course, both groups were evaluated in a driving simulator. The FOCAL+ group had an average of 16.52 eye averts (lasting more than 2 seconds) from the road, compared to 28.05 times for the control group. After 6 months of training, There were 15.7 times in the FOCAL+ group and 27 times in the control group.
After completing the training, the participants’ vehicles were fitted with cameras mounted on the rearview mirror, with one lens facing the driver and the other facing the road. During 1 year of on-road driving, the FOCAL+ group had 76% fewer heartbeats and a 3.4% crash rate compared to 5.6% for the control group, a nearly 40% reduction. In this regard, the researchers noted that FOCAL+ training may reduce distraction and car crash risk in adolescents with ADHD.
Text/Sun Luoxuan, Photos/Lei Siyu
1. References:Trial of Training to Reduce Driver Inattention in Teens with ADHD
further reading
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