FF TD reaction times faster after a few drinks

Gregor Samsa

Fianna Fail TD Bobby Aylward records faster reaction times in a simulated driving test after a few drinks:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/eymhmhojmhid/rss2/

Now, in fairness to him, he recognises that the simulation doesn't reflect the real world complexities of driving a car, and he doesn't seem to be advocating Mattie McGrath's calim that a few scoops help in relaxing drivers.

But it says a lot about the state of the country when Government members perform better when drinking. Boris Yeltsin will be Taoiseach yet.

Tipsy Mac

McDaid was able to drive up a dual carriageway the wrong way while on a bender, didnt hit anybody either.

Mr Benevolent

Actually this isn't new(s). They tested the same concept on airline pilots in a simulator. The pilots who had one drink performed significantly better than the sober subjects. Problem is keeping the pilots at that level of drunkeness for the whole flight

seamus

The results can be easily dismissed as erroneous because the subject knows he's being tested. That is, driving while sober to establish a baseline is fine - you will drive normally. However, if you know then that you *could* be compromised after a single drink you will naturally attempt to compensate and focus better during the second test.

It's a known cognitive biase. People perform significantly better under test conditions because they know they're being watched. The best tests involve not telling the subjects what they're being tested on (or not knowing that they're being tested at all!)