The Impact of Vehicle Fragrance on Driving Performance: What Do We Know?

Previous studies have indicated that certain types of fragrance in the vehicle is effective in keeping the driver alert. This study was conducted to evaluate theeffect of lavender or vanilla flavour fragrances toward the driving performance. Ten human subjects were tested sing driving simulator in three different conditions; driving with vanilla, lavender flavor fragrance and driving without fragrance. A questionnaire was distributed to examine the emotion states of the driver after driving the simulator. Our results indicate that fragrance didnot affect the speed reduction. The emotions of the drivers were calm due to the presence of the fragrance.