DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i04.072

Pages: 1606-1609

Reaction time (RT) is an index of the processing ability of central nervous system and is a simple mean of determining sensory-motor associations and performance of an individual. How quickly a person responds to a stimulus depends on his reaction time, thus it determines the alertness of a person, which is a prerequisite in certain occupations like driving. The objective is to assess and compare Visual Reaction Time in Bus drivers and matched healthy controls. 50 drivers and 50 age - sex matched controls were enrolled into two groups as per inclusion criteria. A self-administered questionnaire to record personal data was given. The reaction time for both the red and green visual stimuli was significantly longer in the night duty drivers than the day duty drivers and controls. The reaction time to red light was observed faster as compared to the green light in the study groups. Our finding suggests shorter visual reaction time in drivers for red light, thus reflecting the need of using the red light for danger sign as a better safety measure while driving.