Driving on the Wrong Side of the Day: Synchrony and Gender Effects

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the impact of circadian cycles, gender, and propensity for cognitive errors on driving performance. Participants (14 women, 6 men), classified as “Evening Types,” performed a low-fidelity driving task during either their peak (evening) or off-peak (morning) times. Although neither penalty nor damage scores varied significantly by time of day, a gender by time of day interaction was observed for damage scores. Specifically, women driving during the day (off-peak) had accrued significantly more damage to their vehicles than did women driving in the evening (peak). However, damage scores for men were not significantly impacted by the time of day in which they drove. Women also received significantly higher penalty scores regardless of time of day. Participants' overall propensity for committing cognitive failures was significantly related to penalty scores ( r = .50), but not to damage scores ( r = .39). The results help identify individual differences in risk factors for driving.