Evaluation Method for Driving Suitability Level of Plateau Drivers

Xinyan Wang

, Xiaofeng Qiu

2,*

Xiangrui Sun

, Zian Yuan

, Cirenlamu

and Yongchang Chen

Engineering College, Tibet University, Lhasa, Tibet, China

School of Information Science and Technology, Tibet University, Lhasa, Tibet, China

865469433@qq.com

Corresponding author

Keywords: Tibet Plateau, Altitude Reaction, Suitability, Traffic Safety.

Abstract: This article designs a driving suitability test method for plateau drivers in the Tibet plateau area. The method

judges whether the driver is suitable for driving activities in the plateau area， through the heart rate blood

sample collection and the driver's driving suitability evaluation, thereby reducing the traffic safety problems

caused by altitude sickness. The evaluation method covers comprehensive indicators and is targeted. it can

meet the application requirements of quantitative evaluation of driving suitability of drivers on the Tibetan

Plateau to a high degree.

1 INTRODUCTION

The average altitude of the Tibetan Plateau is above

4000m. The oxygen partial pressure is only 11kPa,

and the atmospheric partial pressure is the only

53kPa, which is close to the physiological limit of

most people. According to medical data, drivers in

plain areas will experience fear, nervousness,

dizziness, depression, and other adverse reactions

when they drive a motor vehicle on the plateau

for the

first time. These phenomena are called altitude

sickness (

Shu 2020, Chen, et al. 2012). According to

the "2013 Statistical Annual Report on Road Traffic

Accidents of the People's Republic of China", the

western region has the most significant number of

significant traffic accidents with more than ten deaths

at a time, and the traffic safety situation is severe. At

the same time, the traffic safety scholar (Zhu et al.

2013) analyzed the characteristics of 986 accidents in

the plateau area and found that factors related to

drivers accounted for 94.6% of the causes of traffic

accidents in the plateau area. It is the leading factor in

plateau road traffic accidents. The problem of plateau

drivers driving suitability is serious, and driver’s

ability to carry out driving tasks (driving suitability)

is challenging to measure. Regrettably, there is no

relevant research involving equipment or methods for

driving suitability assessment for plateau drivers.

In order to solve problem mentioned above, this

paper designs a piece of test equipment and method

for driving the adaptability level of plateau drivers.

This design has made stricter evaluation standards for

various complex conditions in the Tibetan Plateau,

which is targeted and can meet the application

requirements of quantitative evaluation of driver’s

driving suitability in the Tibetan Plateau to a high

degree.

2 EVALUATION EQUIPMENT

The level test equipment designed as shown in Figure

1 includes a heart rate blood sample collection

module, a driver's driving suitability evaluation

platform, and a computer that provides basic

algorithms and operating environments for the

driver's driving suitability evaluation platform.

The module of heart rate blood sample collection

use the MAX30102 chip to collect the pertinent data

and transmit it to the computer.

The driver's driving suitability evaluation

platform is shown in Figure 2, which includes a

sensory ability test module, a physiological data

collection module, and a suitability evaluation

module.

The module of perceptual ability test collects the

number and time of identification of the scary scene

in the display window (Scialfa, et al. 2012, Yang, et

al. 2014). As shown in Figure 3, the perception ability

test module requires the tester to click on the hazard’s

350

Wang, X., Qiu, X., Sun, X., Yuan, Z., Cirenlamu, . and Chen, Y.

Evaluation Method for Driving Suitability Level of Plateau Drivers.

DOI: 10.5220/0011369200003438

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Health Big Data and Intelligent Healthcare (ICHIH 2022), pages 350-355

ISBN: 978-989-758-596-8

location in the scene picture by playing the scene

picture containing potential traffic conflicts. When

the tester clicks on the image with the mouse, it will

be real-time by the computer data and record. Set an

effective click area at the hazard location of the scene

graph. This area is used for computer discrimination

and is not visible to the tester. Combined with the

analysis data of related traffic safety accidents, it is

concluded that the reaction time of the driver in

response to an emergency during the driving process

is 0.7 to 2.0 seconds, of which the average time for

the driver to judge is about 1.5 seconds. Therefore,

when the scene image appears in an incorrect position

or is not clicked within 2 seconds, the current scene

danger recognition fails; otherwise, the award

succeeds. The perceptual ability test module can

record the average value of the tester’s successful

recognition ratio and the corresponding risk

recognition time of the recognized scene during the

risk recognition process, and calculate the average

value during the evaluation process for evaluation and

analysis.

The physiological data collection module receives

the heart rate and blood oxygen saturation of the test

person during the hazard identification test. After the

test person completes the hazard identification test,

the physiological data collection module calculates

the variance of the rapid heart rate time series

according to the instantaneous heart rate time series.

It calculates the mean value of the test person's blood

oxygen saturation at the same time.

The critical parameter input module is to judge

whether the tester can carry out driving activities by

asking and entering the time and illness. Due to the

high altitude of the Tibetan plateau, there may be

different degrees of altitude sickness due to physical

reasons when you first enter Tibet. The symptoms of

altitude sickness will generally be relieved within 1 to

7 days after entering Tibet. Those who generally enter

Tibet for less than three days do not meet the primary

conditions of high altitude driving are not suitable for

driving activities, especially on passenger lines.

However, taking into account, the differences in the

physical conditions of each age group and each

individual, the progress of the test person can be

recorded according to the normalization method. The

state of the body is relieved after hiding. The state is

to exclude patients who are not suitable for working

at altitude, such as hypertension patients over 50

years old, coronary heart disease patients, severe

diabetes patients, patients with moderate or above

chronic lung disease, patients with bronchial asthma,

and patients with pulmonary hypertension Wait, click

in the selection column through the inquiry. If the test

person suffers from any of the diseases mentioned

above, it is consider that the test person is not suitable

for driving activities and does not meet the primary

conditions for plateau driving. Simultaneously, the

setting of critical parameters can also refine and

adjust based on further investigations.

3 EVALUATION METHOD

The specific work flow chart of plateau driver driving

suitability level test method is shown in Figure 4.

Perception ability test is perform to obtain the

tester’s identification of the hazard in the scene

picture in the plateau environment.

When the test person completes the risk

identification test, the suitability evaluation module

generates the sub-dimension index of perception

ability and the sub-dimension index of physiological

status according 𝑅



to the number of identification

and identification time obtained by the perception

ability test module, and the variance of instantaneous

heart rate time series calculated by the physiological

data collection module and the mean value of blood

oxygen saturation, as shown in formula (1).

𝑅



=(𝑃



,𝐶



,𝑥



⎣

⎢

⎡

𝑃



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



⎦

⎥

⎤

, (1)

Where, 𝑃



is the current level is reflected by the

target element to evaluate, 𝐶



also represents the ith

index factor, and 𝑥



is the data corresponding to the

current status 𝑃



of the index factor 𝐶



. After

obtaining the matter element to be evaluated, the

matter element analysis method is combined to

further assess driver’s suitability to carry out the

driving task (Ai, et al. 2020). That is, input the data to

assess into the suitability evaluation model.

4 ABILITY ASSESSMENT

MODEL

A suitability evaluation model is establishe in the

suitability evaluation model, and the tester is evaluate

for the driving

suitability level of plateau drivers

through the suitability evaluation model. The

establishment process of the suitability evaluation

model includes the following steps:

Step 1) Delineate the level interval of the number

identification, the identification time and the variance

of the instantaneous heart rate time series and the

Evaluation Method for Driving Suitability Level of Plateau Drivers

351

level interval of the mean value of the blood oxygen

saturation, the number of identifications, the

identification time, the variance of the instantaneous

heart rate time series and the mean value of blood

oxygen saturation are both set to 3 levels. The three

levels are respectively more suitable, suitable, and

unsuitable. The three levels form a level set, 𝑁=

{𝑁



（

more suitable），𝑁



（

suitable），𝑁



（

unqualify）} ， then the classical matter element

𝑅



is as in formula (2)：

𝑅



=(𝑁



,𝐶



,𝑋



⎣

⎢

⎡

𝑁



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



𝐶



𝑥



⎦

⎥

⎤

⎣

⎢

⎡

𝑁



𝐶



<𝑎



,𝑏



𝐶



<𝑎



,𝑏



𝐶



<𝑎



,𝑏



𝐶



<𝑎



,𝑏



⎦

⎥

⎤

(2)

where,𝑁



[0,1] represents the jth level, 𝑗=1,2,3 ,

𝑁



represents more suitable, 𝑁



represents

suitable, 𝑁



represents unsuitable; 𝐶



r epres ent s

the ith index factor, 𝑖 = 1,2,3,4 , 𝐶



represents the

number identification, 𝐶



represents the

identification time, 𝐶



represents

Figure 1: The structure diagram of the equipment for evaluating the driving suitability level of plateau drivers.

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the evaluation index system for driving suitability level of plateau drivers.

Heart rate blood oxygen acquisition

module（MAX30102）

Perceptual

ability test

Key parameter

input module

Physiological data

collection module

Driving suitability

assessment module

Driving Adaptability Test Platform

for Drivers in Tibet Plateau

Computer

Adaptability

Perception

Physiological

condition

Key parameter

Number of

hazard

identification

Hazard

identification

time

Instantaneous

heart rate

stability

Blood oxygen

saturation

illness

Entry time

ICHIH 2022 - International Conference on Health Big Data and Intelligent Healthcare

352

Figure 3: The schematic diagram of the perceptual ability test module in the driving suitability evaluation platform for plateau

drivers displayed on the computer.

Figure 4: Schematic diagram of the process of evaluating the driving suitability level of highland drivers.

Hazard

Effective

Click Area

Window

Hazard

effective

click area

Yes

Enter key parameters

of the sub

ect

Whether the

subject's perception

ability test is over

Carry out perception

tests and collect heart

rate and blood oxygen

data at the same time

Whether it meets the

basic conditions for

high altitude

driving

Whether the subject’s

perception ability and

physiological condition

are not lower than

"suitable"

Further calculate the

overall level

Tester is suitable for

high altitude driving

altitude

The tester is not

suitable for

plateau driving

Output test

results

Platform

initialization

End

Evaluation Method for Driving Suitability Level of Plateau Drivers

353

the variance of the instantaneous heart rate time

series,

represents the mean value of blood oxygen

saturation;

is a number under j level,

1,2,3,4i=

is the level interval specified by

on index

factors

iji

;

Step 2) Determine the number of identifications,

identification time, the variance of the instantaneous

heart rate time series, and the mean value of blood

oxygen saturation

, as shown in formula (3)：

11 1 11

22 2 22

(, , )

33 3 33

44 4 44

PC x PC a b

PPP

Cx C ab

PPP

RPCX

PiPi

Cx C ab

PPP

Cx C ab

PPP

 

 

== =

 

 

(3)

where, P is the total number of grade intervals,

represents the ith index factor, and

is the whole

range

,ab

iPi

of the grade distribution specified

by the index factor

；

Step 3) Calculate the correlation

()

between

the number of identifications, identification time, the

variance of the instantaneous heart rate time series,

and the mean value of blood oxygen saturation and

each level, and determine the identification number,

identification time, and rapid heart rate time

according to the correlation. The variance of the

sequence and the mean value of the blood oxygen

saturation respectively correspond to the level, as in

formula (4)：

(, )

()

(, ) (, )

iji

xx xx

iPi i ji

ρρ

−

, (4)

where：

(, )= 0.5( )0.5( )

00000

xx x a b a b

i ji i ji ji ji ji

−+−−

，

(, )= 0.5( )0.5( )xx x a b a b

i Pi i Pi Pi Pi Pi

−+−−

is the measured data used to calculate the degree

of association with each level, that is, the measured

value of the ith index factor；

Step 4) Calculate the correlation between the

number identification and identification time and

each level, use the most significant numerical

correlation to characterize the perception ability, and

use the level corresponding to the perception ability

as the perceived ability level; calculate the variance

and blood oxygen of the instantaneous heart rate time

series The degree of association between the mean

value of saturation and each class is characterized by

the degree of association with the most significant

weight to represent the physiological condition, and

the level corresponding to the physiological state is

regarded as the level of physiological condition; the

perception ability and the degree of association

between the physiological state and each group are

calculated The level corresponding to the highest

degree of relevance is regarded as the overall level, as

in the formula (5)：

() ()

KP wKx

iji



, (5)

where, m and n are the upper and lower limits of the

value of

i , which used for limit the calculation

range;

is the current level of the index factor to

be evaluated by the tester, and

is the evaluation

weight coefficient of the index factor：

When m=1 and n=2, it represents the degree of

relevance of the test person’s perception ability to the

jth level；

When m=3 and n=4, it means the degree of

significance of the test person's physiological

condition to the jth level;

When m=1 and n=4, it means the degree of

significance of the test person's overall grade to the

jth level;

To test the evaluation weight coefficients of the

four sub-dimension indicators (namely number

identification, identification time, the variance of

instantaneous heart rate time series, and mean value

of blood oxygen saturation), in the present invention,

and

are respectively 0.2, 0.3, 0.2

and 0.3.

Step 5), evaluate the driving suitability level of the

plateau driver on the test person, and output the

evaluation result by the computer, as follows：

When the perceptual ability level and the

physiological condition level are suitable or more

appropriate, the overall level of the test person is

further calculate. When the general story is suitable

or more suitable, the test person is ideal for altitude

driving; otherwise, the test person is not. Suitable for

altitude driving; when the level of perceived ability or

physiological condition is inappropriate, or the

critical parameter input information does not meet the

parameter setting standards, the test person is not

suitable for altitude driving.

In summary, the output of the evaluation platform

serves as a reference basis for the tester's suitability

for plateau driving.

ICHIH 2022 - International Conference on Health Big Data and Intelligent Healthcare

354

5 CONCLUSIONS

The design coverage index of this article is more

comprehensive and pertinent. First, the indicators

involve the primary indicators of the driver’s

perception of danger and the physiological indicators

and critical indicators of the driver in the plateau

environment; secondly, the matter-element analysis

method used to evaluate the driving suitability level

of plateau drivers can meet the application

requirements of quantitative evaluation of driving

suitability of plateau drivers in Tibet to a great extent;

at the same time, this paper sets up key parameter

input modules to perform preliminary evaluations on

the testers’ driving suitability level for plateau

drivers, which can improve the efficiency of the

assessment; and the sensory ability test module passes

the visual evaluation, which is more intuitive to the

tester's test effect, and can reflect the tester's

perceptual ability more realistically. This article is to

reduce the safety risk of plateau drivers through

various physical tests on drivers. However, there are

still many unpredictable factors in plateau areas. The

driving ability test of drivers can be further improved

and strengthen.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research was supported by the National Natural

Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51768063

and 51968063), Cultivation Fund for

Scientific Research of Tibet University (Grant

No. ZDTSJH18-02), and the Teaching Research and

Reform Program of Tibet University (Grant No.

XZDXJXYJ202023).

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