1. Motion sickness in rally co-drivers. C
Motion sickness in rally co-drivers. C. Meistelman University Hospital Nancy Université de LorraineNancy, France

2. Motion sickness Sensory conflict / mismatch Mismatch
Pallor Cold sweating
Headache
Epigastric
awareness Sialorrhea Nausea, vomiting Bradycardia Hypotension Vertigo
Dizziness Coordination
troubles
Visual afference
Motion sickness
Central
nervous
system
Mismatch
Vestibular
afference
Somesthetic afference

3. Motion sickness has not been investigated in rallies
Driver – Co-driver
Recces – special stages
Surface
asphalt - gravel and sand - ice and snow
Different cars
engine - body - suspension - net door
reconnaissance: standard car, legal speed
special stages: racing car, closed roads

4. Motion sickness and co-drivers
During the special stages, the co-driver reads his pace notes to alert the driver
The co-drivers, who are reading the pace notes are particularly subjected to a wide range of accelerations provoking Motion Sickness

5. Subjects and methods Participants Methods 85 co-drivers, 21 female
Questionnaire adapted from the motion sickness susceptibility questionnaire (MSSQ)
Reason - Brand, Golding
Specific items relevant for rally were added

6. Subjects et methods - Questionnaire (1)
Sexe / Age / Nb years licence
Have you ever been motion sick ?
never
as front-seat passenger
as rear-seat passenger
when reading in a car
as co-driver when reading pace notes (speciales)
as co-driver when reading the road (reconnaissance)
when driving a car
in a boat
roundabouts, entertainments
only during chilhood

7. Subjects and methods - Questionnaire (2)
MS favoring factors
on-board temperature
on-board smells
type of road surface
oversteer
understeer
type of meal
stress
trial duration
winding road
related to the acceleration plane
anterior-posterior (acceleration / braking)
right - left (turn)
upright (bump, pothole…)

8. Aviat Space Environ Med, 84: 473-477; 2013
Motion sickness in co-drivers
Co-drivers (n = 85)
n (%)
Cochran’s Q, p-value
Special stage
2 (2.3)
Q = 29.80, p < 0.001
Reconnaissance
13 (15.3)a
Reading a book in a car
22 (25.9)b
Rear-seat passenger
22 (25.9)c
a Special stage vs. Reconnaissance: McNemar’s χ² test, χ² = 7.69, p = 0.005
b Special stage vs. Reading a book in a car: McNemar’s χ² test, χ² = 18.05, p < 0.001
c Special stage vs. Rear-seat passenger: McNemar’s χ² test, χ² = 16.40, p < 0.001
Aviat Space Environ Med, 84: ; 2013

9. Results Aviat Space Environ Med, 84: 473-477; 2013
Motion sickness in female and male co-drivers
Female (n = 21)
n (%)
Male (n = 64)
χ² or Fisher’s exact tests, p-value
Special stage
0 (0)
2 (3.1)
Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.99
Reconnaissance
3 (14.3)
10 (15.6)
Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.90
Reading a book in a car
5 (23.8)
17 (26.6)
χ² = 0.06, p = 0.80
Rear-seat passenger
9 (42.9)
13 (20.3)
χ² = 4.18, p = 0.041
Aviat Space Environ Med, 84: ; 2013

10. Co-drivers motion sickness favoring factors
Motion sickness causal factors
Frequencies (in %)
Stress
63.0
On-board smells
46.5
On-board temperature
43.0
Unexpected accelerations (not indicated in the pace notes)
24.0
Twists and turns (winding road)
18.0
Duration of the special stages
15.5
Vertical accelerations
14.0
Medio-lateral accelerations
12.0
Type of food
10.5
Oversteer
9.5
Understeer
Anteroposterior accelerations
3.5

11. Discussion
In special stage motor racing, low rate of motion sickness despite
stress
smells
temperature
higher accelerations MS

12. Results (4)
13 % – Anti-MS medications % – troubled by optokinetic stimulation induced by trees

13. How can we explain the lower prevalence of MS in co-drivers during the race itself?

14. Vision and gaze stabilisation
Reconnaissance
Special stages
Peripheral vision
+++
(environment (landscape)) +
(head tilt, crash helmet, door net)
Central vision /
Gaze
road book
road
writing the pace notes
pace notes

16. Gaze / head / trunck stabilization
Reconnaissance
Special stages
Road book:
not precise information
Pace notes:
precise information
Hand (writing) and head
alternatively stabilised
Head flexed
head mobility (crash helmet)
Body fixed (bucket seat)
Head motions:
VOR gain frequent modulation
Coriolis accelerations
Stiff suspensions
car sloshing
> 0.5 Hz
Stress

17. Cognitive anticipation of upcoming movements
50 mètres Droite à fond, gauche 80 pour Droite 60 et épingle gauche Droite pour gauche 60 pour épingle droite Droite 70. Gauche droite gauche 90 borne kilométrique Gauche pour droite 80 pour gauche 70 large Droite à fond pour Gauche 70 pour droite 60 long Gauche 70 large se referme en 60 Droite 80 et approximate speed, bend configuration

18. Italy Sweden Destra media plu Sinistra Media e destra meno et
tornante sinistra
Sinistra media e tornante destra
Destra Media piu 60 sinistra media plu
destra media piu sinistra media
...
Italy
Sweden

19. Passenger discomfort
Air sickness incidence is usually well below 1% but rises to about 8% in severe turbulence
The impossibility to anticipate the accelerations caused by the turbulences are promoters of motion sickness

20. Restriction of head and body movements by the safety devices
Crash helmet
Belts
Hans device, seat

21. Co drivers
During SS:
Head motions and especially lateral head motions are limited
codrivers information is focused on central retina rather than peripheral
Pace notes are cognitively interpreted and allow anticpation of the forthcoming accelerations recorded by the inner ear.
Car movement frequencies are higher than 0.5 Hz and therefore out of range of MS

22. Co drivers
During Recces: head motion +++, codrivers move all the time their head to look from the road to the road book and back to write notes
It induces modifications of vestibulo ocular reflex (VOR) and generates Coriolis accelerations (triaxial simulation and acceleration)
Use of peripheral retina
The writing of notes cannot ptovide on time cognitive information which can allow anticipation of the acceleration

23. Discussion During special stages anticipatory cognitive processing
Co-drivers
anticipatory body strategy
Habituation, sports involving the use of prorioceptive inputs
Sports vision therapist and vision therapy?

24. Motion sickness and CART: Texas Motor Speedway 2001
Disorientation, dizziness and postural imbalance in race car drivers: a problem in G-tolerance, spatial orientation and both:
F Guedry, A Raj and T Cowin
The Institute for Human and Machine cognition
University of West Florida, Pensacola

25. Conclusion and highlights
Motion sickness
MS is more reported in reconnaissance than in special stages
Pace notes may lead an anticipation of the vestibular accelerations
In reconnaissance, head movements may include Coriolis accelerations
The type of visual information influences MS susceptibility.

26. Current study
Jacobs (2002)
Backman et al
(2005)
Beaune et al
(2010) n
260 7
(Cart divers)
Open-wheel: 9
Rally: 9
Open-wheel: 8
Age (years)
Open-wheel:
Rally:
Weight (kg)
Open-wheel:
Rally:
Height (cm)
Open-wheel:
Rally:
BMI (kg/m2)
Open-wheel:
Rally: