Global Journal of Health Science Vol. 2, No. 1; April 2010 167 Driving Fatigue and Performance among Occupational Drivers in Simulated Prolonged Driving SzeSeen Kee Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: 63-8947-2395 E-mail: sinngerkee@yahoo.com Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-894-2395 E-mail: uvea_2000@yahoo.com YongMeng Goh Department of Veterinary Preclinical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Tel: 60-3-8946-8338 E-mail: gohyongmeng@gmail.com The research is financed by University Putra Malaysia (Research University Grant Scheme) Vote No. 91236 Abstract Introduction: Motor vehicle accident is a major problem in Malaysia. The statistics shows an increasing number of accidents (year 1997 to 2007). Fatigue and drowsiness among the drivers has been identified as one of the main reasons behind fatal crashes and injuries especially driving in long and monotonous motorway. This study aims to determine the driver’s driving performance and physiological change of EEG in association with external factors such as driving condition and environmental background factors in a prolonged simulation study. Result: The study showed that time-on-task effect had significantly deteriorated drivers’ alertness and impaired driving performance in an extended driving period, when certain driving condition and environmental factors considered. Conclusion: This study shows that prolong driving had significantly induced drivers’ fatigue level exclusively with monotonous environment. Extended driving period deteriorated drivers’ performance, revealing that time-on-task effect could possibly put drivers on a higher risk to be involved in traffic accident. Keywords: Fatigue, Drowsiness, Driving performance, EEG, Simulation 1. Introduction Motor vehicle accident, also known as road traffic accident which involves cars, motorcycles and public transport is a major problem in Malaysia. According to the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS), the rate of road accidents in Malaysia is one of the highest compared to other countries in the world. A ten-year road traffic statistic showed that the total number of accidents had risen from 215,632 cases (1997) to 363,314 cases in 2007. This is equivalent to 3.73 deaths for every 10 000 registered vehicles in the same year. Recently, occupational vehicle accidents had recorded an alarming increase in serious injury and death. Among the most significant is the fatality involving bus crash that had increased by 58 percent from year 2006 to 2007. These incidents happened mostly due to human errors on the drivers’ part (e.g. speeding, losing control over the vehicle, overtaking, fatigue and drowsiness), environmental condition as well as the vehicle conditions (Ng and Selva, 2003). Driving fatigue, which is described as a feeling of drowsiness due to extended driving period, monotonous road condition, adverse climatologically environment or drivers’ individual characteristics are direct or contributing factor to road accidents. Subjective feeling of fatigue which combined with negative effects on performance due to time spent on cognitively demanding tasks (Meletis and Barker, 2004) can somehow affect the driving