Asian Transport Studies, Volume 4, Issue 4 (2017), 663–679.

© 2017 ATS All rights reserved

Analysis of Driving Stress on Various Roadway Conditions in Myanmar by

using Heart Rate Variability

Phyu Phyu THWE a, Toshiyuki YAMAMOTO b, Hitomi SATO c, Takayuki

MORIKAWA d
a
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku,
Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan; E-mail: phyuthwe13@googlemail.com
b
Institute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-
ku, Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan; Email: yamamoto@civil.nagoya-u.ac.jp
c, d
Institute of Innovation for Future Society, Nagoya University, Furo-cho Chikusa-ku,
Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan
c
E-mail: sato@trans.civil.nagoya-u.ac.jp
d
E-mail: morikawa@nagoya-u.jp

Abstract: Traffic accidents result in more than 1.2 million deaths worldwide per year,
especially in developing countries. Therefore, road safety is a major issue in these countries.
Many researchers found that traffic accidents occur mainly because of driving stress and driving
behavior. There are few studies on driving stress in developing countries, particularly in
Myanmar. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of roadway conditions on driving
stress in Myanmar by using heart rate variability (HRV). The study used two polar watches
V800, a heart rate sensor H7, and a video camera to collect data and carried out time-domain
and frequency-domain analysis of HRV by using the Kubios HRV analysis software. The
results showed that drivers experience different driving stresses depending on roadway
conditions. In particular, highly crowded places and those requiring attention such as mixed
roads, lane-changing points, jaywalking places, rough and bad pavements, traffic congestion
areas, and flyover are the most stressful segments along the roadway for drivers.

Keywords: Driving Stress, Road Safety, Heart Rate Variability.

1. INTRODUCTION

Traffic accidents result in more than 1.2 million deaths per year worldwide, especially in
developing countries. Road traffic injuries are estimated to be the ninth leading cause of death
in the global mortality rate, and 90% of the victims are from low- and middle-income countries
(IRTAD, 2015; WHO, 2015a). Road traffic crashes accounted for 316 000 deaths annually in
the Southeast Asia Region, which is approximately 25% of the world road traffic deaths. The
average road traffic fatality rate in the region is 17.0 per 100 000 population while the global
rate is 17.4. However, it is also shown that the road traffic fatality rate for Myanmar is 20.3 per
100 000 population and is the second highest rate in the region (WHO, 2015b). The trend of
road accidents in Myanmar is increasing every year as shown in Figure 1 (Myint, 2014). On the
other hand, buses and private cars account for over 70% of road traffic accidents with both fatal
and injury accidents in Yangon. In 2011, buses and private cars accounted for 30% and 43% of
fatal traffic accidents and 45% and 37% injury traffic accidents, respectively (Kojima et al.,
2015). The dominance by buses and private cars is caused by the fact that motorcycles, bicycles,


Corresponding author.

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and other slow moving vehicles are prohibited in a part of the central business district (CBD)
and on some main roads. The injuries resulted in significant financial losses at the national level
because they are estimated to cost 3% of the gross national product in developing countries
(WHO, 2015a). Our previous study found that road crashes resulted in poverty to families with
members involved in such accidents in Myanmar (Thwe et al., 2013). Therefore, road safety is
a major issue in developing countries. Many previous studies showed that road accidents are
affected by driving stress. Norris et al. (2000) found the connection between driving stress and
higher crash risk. Many of the accidents are linked with reduction of driver perception due to
fatigue, drowsiness, stress, or mental workload (Kumar et al., 2007). On the other hand, at
present, traffic congestion is a major issue in megacities of developing countries, and it has
increased driving stress that leads to traffic accidents. Wolf (2000) highlighted that traffic
congestion is much higher now than in previous years because people currently spend more
time on the road. Driving stress is considered as a public health issue. The occurrences of traffic
accidents are closely related to the driver’s awareness on traffic situations. However, there are
still few driving stress studies in developing countries, particularly in Myanmar. The aim of this
study is to investigate the effect of different roadway conditions in Myanmar on driving stress
using heart rate variability (HRV) analysis in order to reduce traffic accidents related to driving
stress.

Figure 1. Road accident data from 2000 to 2012 (Source: Myint, 2014)

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Stress is a physiological situation arising from difficult conditions such as business concerns,
tight schedules, and financial problems (Kanner et al., 1981). Increasing heart rate and
breathing rate, pupil dilation, muscle contraction, and worrying are physiological variations that
occur under a high stress state. Driving is one of the most stressful activities requiring various
decision-making tasks for a multifaceted information processing. A research also identified that
driving stress and fatigue result from monotonous driving while complex driving increases
driving errors (Shamsul et al., 2014). That is why driving often leads to high mental stress.
Stress has been known as a major problem in highway management because it leads to road

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accidents. Road accidents are more pronounced compared with other travel modes (Kolo et al.,
2013). This is because the roadway is flexible for movements and is used by various types of
road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorized two-, three-, and four-wheeler vehicles.
Driving behavior, age, gender, environment, traffic congestion, road conditions, tight schedules,
insufficient sleep, driving skills, and individual feelings are the factors affecting driving stress.
A higher risk of traffic accidents is due to human factors and road factors (Shamsul et al., 2014).
Stress depends on both driver characteristics and on the specific driving environment (Hill and
Boyle, 2007). Human factors are related to personality, demographic features, and mental and
physical workloads (Rohani and Buhari, 2013). Accidents, death, sickness, low performance,
time wastage, etc. are the consequences of driving stress (Duffy and McGoldrick, 1990).
Previous research verified that traffic accidents are seriously affected by driving stress and
driving behaviors. Therefore, it is important to monitor driving stress to control traffic accidents.
Many researchers studied how to measure the driving stress. They found that stress can
be detected by physiological sensors such as electrocardiogram (ECG), electromyogram,
galvanic skin response, respiration rate (RR), electro-oculogram, electroencephalogram, and
pulse oximeter (oxygen saturation measurements) during real-world driving tasks (Manjusha
and Shermila, 2014; Begum, 2013; Singh and Queyam, 2013; Healey and Picard, 2005;
Apparises et al., 1998). Among these, the skin conductivity and heart rate parameters of drivers
are more definitely linked to their stress level (Singh and Queyam, 2013; Healey and Picard,
2005). Heart rate and respiration rate sensors are valuable in observing a vehicle driver’s
awareness (Partin et al., 2006). Healey and Picard (2005) also mentioned that detecting the
heart rate is the most practical way of detecting the driver’s condition during real driving. HRV,
which is an indication of mental workload (Miller, 2013), is the consequence of alteration in
RR interval of ECG. RR interval is the time elapsed between successive heartbeats (Singh and
Queyam, 2013; Niskanen et al., 2004). Moreover, many previous studies found that HRV
analysis can be applied in detecting driving stress in real-world driving (Mashina et al., 2015;
Sena et al., 2014; Miller, 2013; Eilebrecht et al., 2012; Wang et al., 2011). Therefore, this study
also used HRV to detect driving stress. There are three methods of HRV analysis: time-domain,
frequency-domain, and nonlinear methods. In the time-domain method, the HRV can be
computed directly from a successive RR interval series. The mean value of RR can be easily
calculated from the series, and the other parameters are calculated from it (Tarvainen et al.,
2014; Niskanen et al., 2004). The mean value of the heart rate is the ratio of 60 ms to the mean
value of RR (Patil et al., 2015). The most obvious parameters of the method are the mean value
of RR intervals (mean RR), mean value of heart rate (mean HR), standard deviation of normal
to normal RR intervals (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences in ms (RMSSD),
percentage value of the number of consecutive RR intervals that differs by more than 50 ms
(pNN50), and baseline width of the minimum square difference triangular interpolation of the
highest peak of the histogram of all NN intervals (TINN) (Tarvainen et al., 2014; Niskanen et
al., 2004). While a lower value of mean RR, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, and TINN indicates a
more stressful condition than its value at baseline (normal) condition of a human (Patil et al.,
2015; Orsila et al., 2008; Taelman et al., 2008), a higher mean HR value expresses a more
stressful condition than its value at normal condition (Taelman et al., 2008; Healey and Picard,
2005). The research found that time-domain parameters provided the best potential in
measuring the driving stress (Baek et al., 2009). The frequency-domain analysis involves
computing the power spectral density of the RR series. The method includes both non-
parametric (FFT, fast Fourier transform) and parametric method (AR) and depends on the
powers and peak frequencies for different frequency bands. The very low frequency (VLF, 0–
0.04 Hz), low frequency (LF, 0.04–0.15 Hz), and high frequency (HF, 0.15–0.4 Hz) are
commonly used (Tarvainen et al., 2014; Niskanen et al., 2004). In this study, the LF and HF are

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used. The LF to HF ratio indicates the overall balance between the sympathetic nervous system
activity and the parasympathetic nervous system activity (Vicente et al., 2011). Previous studies
showed that an increasing LF to HF ratio indicates a more stressful condition in comparison
with the baseline condition (Patil et al., 2015, Taelman et al., 2008; Healey and Picard, 2005).
A clear understanding of many nonlinear methods is not yet achieved (Niskanen et al., 2004).
Moreover, most of the studies use time-domain and frequency-domain methods, and therefore,
this study also uses only the two methods.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Participants

In this study, 46 drivers aged 24 to 64 participated. However, only the data of 42 drivers (41
males and 1 female) can be used, because the data of the other 4 drivers are invalid. The
participants are professional drivers from Khin Nadi Travel Services Company Limited and
each participant was compensated $40 per half day. They had an average of 14.3 (SD = 9.3)
years driving experience in general.

3.2 Apparatus and procedure

Two polar watches V800, a heart rate sensor H7, and a video camera are used in this study. The
first polar watch V800 (Figure 2(a)) is used to obtain the GPS (global positioning system) data
while the other is for RR recording with connection to the heart rate sensor H7 (Figure 2(b)).
The Polar Flowsync software allows synchronization of data between the polar watch and the
flow web service on the computer via a USB. Before using the heart rate sensor H7, it is required
to be paired with the polar watch V800 (Polar Watch V800 User Manual). It has two parts, a
chest strap, which includes electrode areas, and a connector. The sensor is worn around the
chest of the participants. To ensure a good heart rate signal detection, the sensor is required to
be firmly fixed against the skin and that the polar logo of the connector is in a central and
upright position. The plastic electrode areas on the reverse side of the strap detect the heart rate
and the connector sends the heart rate signal to the receiving device, the polar watch V800
(Polar H7 Heart Rate Sensor Accessory Manual). A video camera records the road data and
condition such as roadway, lane, traffic light, bridge, median, and traffic condition.

(a) Polar watch V800 (b) Heart rate sensor H7

Figure 2: Sensors used in this study (Source: http://www.polar.com/)

The study includes suburban, urban, CBD, residential, and industrial zone areas. Figure 3
shows the selected routes, namely route 1, route 2, and route 3 with the description of urban
and suburban area (JICA, 2013). This study selected three routes: the first route (suburban–
industrial zone area–suburban) is Hotel 7 Mile–Tharketa industrial zone–Hotel 7 Mile, the

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second route (suburban) is Htaukyant war cemetery–Mingalardon railway station–Htaukyant,

and the third route (suburban–CBD–suburban) is Hotel 7 Mile–city hall–Hotel 7 Mile. A total
of 13 drivers completed the first route, and it started and ended in front of Hotel 7 Mile; 7
drivers drove in counterclockwise direction and 6 drivers drove in clockwise direction of the
22.4 km route. A total of 14 drivers completed the 29.2 km second route, and it started and
ended at Htaukyant war cemetery. The 23.6 km third route, started and ended at Hotel 7 Mile,
and 15 drivers completed it. All participants rested for 10 minutes at Tharketa industrial zone
for route 1, at Mingalardon railway station for route 2, and at the city hall for route 3, that is,
after driving for over 16 km to avoid fatigue. The participants started in the morning between
8:30 and 9:30 am and in the evening between 4:00 to 5:30 pm. The resting heart rate 10 minutes
before driving was recorded for the baseline measurement. After driving, the participants
answered a questionnaire survey on their socio-demographics, driving behaviors, and driving
experiences.

Figure 3: Routes 1, 2, and 3 with description of study area (modified from JICA, 2013)

3.3 Road Segments

All the three routes are divided into road segments according to roadway conditions. The first
route includes 19 segments, the second 8 segments, and the third 16 segments for the
counterclockwise direction and 15 segments for the clockwise direction because the CBD area
of the routes has one-way roads. The Yangon City Development Committee classified roads
depending on road width, number of lanes, and function of each road as follows: (1) main road:
primary paved roads connecting major cities and towns, (2) collector road: secondary paved
roads connecting cities/towns with main roads and (3) minor road: other roads connecting towns

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(JICA, 2014). The volume capacity ratio is obtained from JICA (2014); however, the ratios of
some roads are not included in it. The characteristics of the road segments are listed in Table 1
according to route directions.

Table 1(a). Road condition for the counterclockwise direction of Route 1

Traffic light Volume
Length Road Way / Lane per
Segment Land use* / round- Bridge capacity Misc.
(km) class median direction
about ratio
1 0.12 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
2 0.50 Collector NS, OR 2/n 3 1/0 0 0.98
3 3.00 Collector NS 2/n 2 3/0 1 0.82
OS, OR,
4 5.20 Collector 2/y 3 5/0 1 -
UR
5 0.65 Collector UR 1/n 2 1/0 1 -
6 0.45 Collector I 2/n 2 0/0 0 -
7 0.91 Minor I 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
8 0.99 Minor I 2/n 1 0/0 0 - Return
9 0.67 Collector I 2/n 2 1/0 0 -
10 0.65 Collector UR 1/n 2 0/0 1 -
11 2.00 Collector UR, OR 2/y 3 3/0 1 -
12 0.90 Minor OR 2/n 2 0/0 0 -
13 3.50 Collector OR, OS 2/n 3 4/0 0 -
14 0.80 Collector OS 2/n 3 1/0 0 0.81
15 1.10 Collector NS 2/n 3 0/0 0 -
16 1.00 Minor NS 2/n 2 0/0 0 -
17 1.30 Collector NS 2/n 3 0/0 0 -
Sharp
18 0.91 Collector OS, NS 2/n 2 0/0 1 -
turn
19 2.87 Collector NS 2/n 3 1/0 0 0.86
* I: industrial, NS: northern suburbs, OR: outer ring, OS: older suburbs, R: residential, UR: inner urban ring

Table 1(b). Road condition for the clockwise direction of Route 1

Traffic light Volume
Length Road Way / Lane per
Segment Land use* / round- Bridge capacity Misc.
(km) class median direction
about ratio
1 0.12 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
2 2.87 Collector NS 2/n 3 2/0 0 0.86
Sharp
3 0.91 Collector NS, OS 2/n 2 0/0 1 -
turn
NS
4 1.30 Collector 2/n 3 1/0 0 -
5 1.00 Minor NS 2/n 2 0/0 0 -
6 1.10 Collector NS 2/n 3 0/0 0 -
7 0.80 Collector OS 2/n 3 4/0 0 0.81
8 3.50 Collector OS, OR 2/n 3 4/0 0 -
9 0.90 Minor OR 2/n 2 1/0 0 -
10 2.00 Collector OR, UR 2/y 3 2/0 1 -
11 0.65 Collector UR 1/n 2 1/0 1 -
12 0.67 Collector I 2/n 2 0/0 0 -
13 0.99 Minor I 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
14 0.91 Minor I 2/n 1 0/0 0 - Return

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15 0.45 Minor I 2/n 2 1/0 0 -

16 0.65 Collector UR 1/n 2 0/0 1 -
UR, OR,
17 5.20 Collector 2/y 3 5/0 0 -
OS
18 3.00 Collector NS 2/n 2 4/0 1 0.82
19 0.50 Collector OR, NS 2/n 3 0/0 0 0.98
* I: industrial, NS: northern suburbs, OR: outer ring, OS: older suburbs, R: residential, UR: inner urban ring

Table 1(c). Road condition for Route 2

Traffic light Volume
Length Road Way / Lane per
Segment Land use* / round- Bridge capacity Misc.
(km) class median direction
about ratio
1 11.60 Main NS 2/y/n 3 0/0 0 -
2 1.40 Main NS 2/y/n 3 1/0 1 -
3 1.30 Collector NS 2/y/n 2 0/0 0 -
4 0.30 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
5 0.30 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 - Return
6 1.30 Collector NS 2/y/n 2 1/0 0 -
7 1.40 Main NS 2/y/n 3 0/0 1 -
8 11.60 Main NS 2/y/n 3 0/0 0 -
* I: industrial, NS: northern suburbs, OR: outer ring, OS: older suburbs, R: residential, UR: inner urban ring

Table 1(d). Road condition for the counterclockwise direction of Route 3

Traffic
Lane Volume
Length Road Way / light /
Segment Land use* per Bridge capacity Misc.
(km) class median round-
direction ratio
about
1 0.12 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
2 3.30 Collector NS, OR 2/y 3 3/0 0 0.98
3 0.80 Collector OR 2/n 2 0/0 1 0.98
4 1.28 Collector OR, UR 2/y 3 0/1 0 0.98
5 2.20 Collector UR 2/y 2 2/1 0 -
6 2.20 Collector UR 2/y 2 1/0 0 -
Minor/ 1/y/n,
7 1.61 CBD 1,2,4 3/1 0 0.50
Collector 2/n
Minor/
8 0.48 CBD 1/n 2,4 2/0 0 0.28 return
Collector
9 0.87 Collector CBD 2/y 3 2/1 0 0.28
10 1.10 Collector UR 1/n 3 1/0 1 -
11 1.95 Collector UR 2/y 3 1/1 0 -
12 0.85 Collector UR 2/n 2 0/0 1 0.74
13 4.10 Collector UR, NS 2/n 3 4/0 0 0.74
14 1.05 Minor R 2/n 1 1/0 0 -
15 1.30 Collector NS, OR 2/n 2 1/0 0 0.81
16 0.50 Collector OR, NS 2/n 3 0/0 0 0.98
* I: industrial, NS: northern suburbs, OR: outer ring, OS: older suburbs, R: residential, UR: inner urban ring

Table 1(e): Road condition for the clockwise direction of Route 3

Traffic
Volume
Length Road Way / Lane per light /
Segment Land use* Bridge capacity Misc.
(km) class median direction round-
ratio
about

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1 0.12 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -

2 0.50 Collector NS, OR 2/n 3 1/0 0 0.98
3 1.30 Collector OR, NS 2/n 2 1/0 0 0.81
4 1.05 Minor R 2/n 1 0/0 0 -
5 4.10 Collector NS, UR 2/n 3 4/0 0 0.74
6 0.85 Collector UR 2/n 2 0/0 1 0.74
7 1.95 Collector UR 2/y 3 2/1 0 -
8 1.10 Collector UR 1/y/n 4 1/0 1 -
9 0.80 Collector CBD 1/n, 2/y 3,4 2/1 0 0.50
Minor/ 1/y/n,
10 1.93 CBD 2,3,4 5/1 0 0.28 return
Collector 2/y
11 2.20 Collector UR 2/y 2 0/1 0 -
12 2.20 Collector UR 2/y 2 1/0 0 -
13 1.28 Collector UR, OR 2/y 3 0/1 0 0.98
14 0.80 Collector OR 2/n 2 0/0 1 0.98
15 3.30 Collector OR, NS 2/y 3 3/0 0 0.98
* I: industrial, NS: northern suburbs, OR: outer ring, OS: older suburbs, R: residential, UR: inner urban ring

3.4 Data Analysis

Both time-domain and frequency-domain methods of HRV analysis are carried out using the
Kubios HRV 2.2 software with medium artifact corrections. The HRV frequency bands, VLF,
LF, and HF power range are set at 0 Hz to 0.04 Hz, 0.04 Hz to 0.15 Hz, and 0.15 Hz to 0.4 Hz,
respectively. The RR recording at resting condition was assumed as the baseline of the driver
(unstressed condition). The non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for statistical
comparisons between resting condition and driving condition on different road segments. The
Wilcoxon signed-rank test is a non-parametric statistical test to compare two related samples
and matched samples instead of the paired t-test if the distribution of differences between pairs
is extremely non-normally distributed. In this study, because the distribution of differences
between pairs is non-normally distributed, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test rather than the paired
t-test is used.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Table 2(a) to table 2(e) list the values of HRV parameters and statistical comparisons between
resting condition and driving condition on different road segments for each route. The
parameters in the first row (resting condition) show the baseline (normal) condition of the driver,
and the values in the other rows are compared with them to determine if the values are
statistically significant from the resting condition. As mentioned in the literature, if the values
of RR, SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, and TINN in a segment are significantly lower than their
values at resting condition, it means that the driver is experiencing driving stress in that segment.
On the other hand, if the values of HR , LF/HF(FFT), and LF/HF(AR) in a segment are
significantly higher than their values at resting condition, it means that the driver is
experiencing driving stress in that segment. To identify the most stressful segment, the
significance level and the number of significant parameters are used in this study. The higher
the significance level, the higher the stress of the driver. If the significance level is the same,
the more stressful segment is determined from comparison of the number of significant
parameters. Significant levels have p values such as †p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01, which are

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calculated by the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.

Table 2(a). Heart rate variability (HRV) parameters for counterclockwise direction of Route 1
RR SDNN HR RMSSD pNN50 TINN LF/HF LF/HF
(ms) (ms) (1/min) (ms) (%) (ms) (FFT) (AR)
Resting
774.2 25.25 79.27 22.05 5.665 142.1 3.803 3.376
condition
Segment 1 669.3 † 21.42 † 90.30 † 14.35 † 0.896 † 92.1 * 3.436 3.390
Segment 2 676.7 * 20.96 89.42 * 15.92 1.164 115.0 3.987 4.591
Segment 3 689.2 † 21.14 87.59 † 14.99 0.714 * 150.0 4.532 4.944
Segment 4 696.8 † 22.56 86.78 † 15.74 † 0.929 † 167.9 5.254 5.043 †
Segment 5 692.6 † 21.94 87.26 † 16.22 1.351 122.1 6.764 † 4.739
Segment 6 677.3 * 16.93 * 89.26 * 11.85 * 0.437 * 71.4 * 8.355 7.181 *
Segment 7 690.7 † 17.57 * 87.47 † 12.44 * 0.292 * 85.0 * 8.096 † 6.292 *
Segment 8 694.6 † 18.65 † 86.87 13.67 † 0.313 * 102.1 † 5.116 * 4.960 †
Segment 9 695.8 † 19.10 86.74 15.94 0.665 † 90.0 † 5.728 4.229
Segment 10 706.7 19.86 85.34 13.83 0.324 * 88.6 † 6.719 7.640 *
Segment 11 699.3 † 23.58 86.28 15.17 0.557 † 145.0 5.995 † 5.576
Segment 12 708.1 19.71 85.09 17.43 0.579 † 110.0 4.954 5.215
Segment 13 707.4 21.80 85.23 15.72 0.54 † 140.0 6.089 † 5.204 *
Segment 14 697.5 21.18 86.40 14.31 0.502 * 101.4 † 8.223 * 6.719 *
Segment 15 699.8 20.73 86.21 14.76 0.449 * 92.9 * 5.522 5.750 †
Segment 16 715.0 23.52 84.31 18.60 1.217 * 117.9 † 6.595 5.850 †
Segment 17 698.4 † 18.51 † 86.37 13.91 † 0.196 * 94.3 † 7.345 5.076
Segment 18 698.9 † 21.68 † 86.50 14.38 † 0.517 * 108.6 * 5.534 5.550 †
Segment 19 700.4 † 24.96 86.45 17.46 1.053 † 167.1 4.673 4.689
†p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

The results for the counterclockwise direction of Route 1 are listed in Table 2(a). The
overall parameters suggest that the highest stress occurs in Segments 7 and 8, the industrial
zone area (1-lane road); Segment 6, industrial zone area (2-lane); Segment 18 (sharp turn) and
Segment 1 (residential road). The road at Segment 7 and 8 is not only narrow but also has rough
and bad pavements in comparison with the other segments and mixed-use roads. Therefore, the
driver may experience stress owing to more concentration required to keep away from various
road users such as pedestrians, two wheelers, and four wheelers on the rough, bad and narrow
pavements. The second highest stressful segment (Segment 6) also has the same condition
except for little wider and smoother pavements in comparison with the abovementioned road.
Then, it is followed by the segment with the sharp turn (Segment 18), which creates driving
stress because the driver concentrates not only on the sharp turn but also on the vehicles from
the opposite direction. After Segment 18, the residential road (Segment 1) follows because it is
similar to the industrial area although it does not have as much mixed traffic. Figure 4 shows
the conditions of the segments with high driving stress.

Figure 4(a): Segment 7 Figure 4(b): Segment 7 Figure 4(c): Segment 8

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Figure 4(d): Segment 6 Figure 4(e): Segment 9 Figure 4(f): Segment 18 Figure 4(g): Segment 1

The results for the clockwise direction of Route 1 are listed in Table 2(b). All HRV
parameters in the route show that there is a little difference from the counterclockwise direction
because of the different roadside conditions according to the directions of the route. The highest
driving stress occurs in Segment 3 (sharp turn) and Segment 6, the second one happens in
Segment 1 (residential road) and Segment 4, the third one in Segment 8, and the fourth one in
Segments 14 and 15 (industrial zone road) and Segment 7. The reason for the highest stress in
the sharp turn is already explained previously in the counterclockwise direction of the road. The
reason for the highest stress in Segment 6 is that the segment has a long queue of cars on the
road, and it is confusing owing to the entrance and exit of a compressed natural gas station and
mixed road users because some small snack shops are on the side of this road. For the second
highest stressful segments (Segments 1 and 4), the reason for the residential road (Segment 1)
is the same as that in the counterclockwise direction of the route. However, for the other second
highest stress segment, Segment 4, the reason is due to the sudden lane changes by some drivers
at the junction. In addition, there are many cars passing to the shopping center on this side of
the road.

Table 2(b): HRV parameters for clockwise direction of Route 1

RR SDNN HR RMSSD pNN50 TINN LF/HF LF/HF
(ms) (ms) (1/min) (ms) (%) (ms) (FFT) (AR)
Resting
832.2 27.23 73.13 24.59 4.320 175.8 2.708 3.202
condition
Segment 1 743.5 * 19.98 * 81.50 * 16.18 * 1.565 † 90.8 * 4.826 3.105
Segment 2 766.4 * 19.97 * 79.26 * 17.48 † 1.774 * 158.3 2.814 2.849
Segment 3 744.7 * 18.54 * 81.46 * 14.96 * 1.319 * 99.2 * 3.733 3.360
Segment 4 757.6 * 18.06 * 80.31 * 14.95 * 0.954 † 87.5 * 4.482 3.937
Segment 5 763.2 * 21.49 † 79.46 † 15.452 † 1.223 94.2 * 5.445 5.582
Segment 6 771.4 * 20.28 * 78.88 * 15.446 * 0.831 * 98.3 * 4.332 4.067
Segment 7 767.2 * 21.77 79.30 * 17.66 * 3.371 † 102.5 * 3.672 3.876
Segment 8 776.4 * 18.61 * 78.36 16.24 * 1.228 * 113.3 * 2.949 2.932
Segment 9 778.3 19.72 * 78.43 16.41 * 1.272 95.0 * 4.287 4.380
Segment 10 781.1 20.25 * 78.33 17.66 * 2.641 † 112.5 * 2.971 3.269
Segment 11 796.8 21.02 † 76.67 18.00 † 3.105 100.0 * 4.430 * 4.095
Segment 12 786.7 21.10 * 77.67 18.27 * 2.295 110.0 * 2.908 2.728
Segment 13 780.6 * 20.85 * 78.08 † 19.24 * 2.884 131.7 * 2.150 2.641
Segment 14 782.4 19.53 * 78.59 † 16.30 * 1.871 * 99.2 * 3.671 3.241
Segment 15 790.0 18.56 * 78.21 † 17.45 * 2.545 * 78.3 * 3.935 3.387
Segment 16 813.0 20.67 75.84 18.94 2.796 85.8 * 3.946 3.062
Segment 17 803.3 21.96 * 76.57 18.77 * 3.158 130.8 * 3.996 3.389
Segment 18 808.3 22.98 * 76.18 19.87 * 3.407 183.3 3.054 2.932
Segment 19 801.6 17.62 * 76.89 18.19 * 2.121 * 75.8 * 2.513 2.372
†p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

The third stressful segment (Segment 8) is different from that of the counterclockwise
direction because there is a market on this roadside, and it requires more driver concentration
owing to confused and mixed road users. The road segments where high driving stress occurs
are shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 5(a): Segment 6 (long queue and snack shop) Figure 5(b): Segment 6

Figure 5(c): Segment 4 Figure 5(d): Segment 8 Figure 5(e): Segment 7

The results for Route 2 (suburban to suburban) are listed in Table 2(c). The route includes
only the suburban area; however, it has four different parts: main road without traffic light, main
road with traffic light, collector road, and residential road.

Table 2(c): HRV parameters for Route 2

SDNN HR RMSSD pNN50 TINN LF/HF LF/HF
RR (ms)
(ms) (1/min) (ms) (%) (ms) (FFT) (AR)
Resting
737.0 27.81 82.99 27.49 10.024 155.4 3.953 3.882
condition
Segment 1 650.9 ** 19.77 * 95.17 ** 14.65 † 2.392 † 126.1 † 5.904 5.503
Segment 2 650.1 ** 23.44 95.15 ** 17.04 3.201 120.7 7.029 6.555
Segment 3 658.9 ** 23.60 93.56 ** 18.03 4.534 114.6 ** 6.967 † 5.477
Segment 4 662.9 ** 19.49 * 93.12 ** 18.77 † 3.404 † 81.9 ** 5.910 5.120
Segment 5 642.1 ** 24.18 † 95.80 ** 23.62 2.042 135.0 4.132 3.577
Segment 6 654.3 ** 39.02 94.16 ** 37.74 † 2.157 236.4 7.146 6.246
Segment 7 659.0 ** 30.35 93.71 ** 29.55 2.812 186.1 * 6.615 5.315
Segment 8 666.5 * 28.91 92.41 ** 25.17 2.526 217.5 5.554 5.337
†p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

The results show that the highest stress occurs in Segment 4 (residential road), followed
by Segment 1 (main road without traffic lights), Segment 3 (collector road), and then Segment
2 (main road with traffic lights). The residential road (Segment 4) has mixed road users with a
narrow pavement; moreover, a railway station is on the roadside. The experiment was carried
out during the commuting period from outside of the city, suburban to urban, and therefore, it
may be more stressful at Segment 1 owing to vehicle high speed due to absence of controlling
traffic light than in segments with traffic light. The collector road (Segment 3) is crowded
because it is the way to and from the highway bus station. However, on the return way, the high
stress occurs in Segment 7 (the first portion of the main road), followed by Segment 5
(residential road) and Segment 6 (collector road), and then in Segment 8 (main road without
traffic light). This is because a market is on the return side of Segment 7, and buses try to get
passengers without obeying laws and regulations of the road. Thus, drivers have to pay attention
to pedestrians who cross the road carelessly and stressfully. Figure 6 shows the segments with

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high stress for the second route.

Figure 6(a): Segment 1 Figure 6(b): Segment 3 Figure 6(c): Segment 4 Figure 6(d): Segment 7

The results for the counterclockwise direction of Route 3 are listed in Table 2(d). It can
be observed that the drivers on the route experience the highest stress in Segment 1 (residential
road), and then in Segment 10 (one-way three lanes at outbound of CBD); it is followed by
Segments 12 and 13 (flyover portion and flyover construction segments). The reason for high
stress in the residential area (Segment 1) is the same as that for Route 1. The second highest
stressful segment is in the one-way road with three lanes after CBD (Segment 10). This is
because it is on the way to the entrance and exit of the central railway station, to the highway
ticket selling places, Bogyoke Aung San Stadium, and shopping malls and cars that want to go
toward CBD have to pass the way. Moreover, the drivers experience stress in the flyover portion
(Segment 12). After that, the driving stress occurs in the segment with flyover construction
(Segment 13) because cars have to use one lane and must move only slowly, which takes time
and results in high traffic congestion. The conditions of the road segments with high stress are
as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7(a): Segment 10 Figure 7(b): Segment 10 Figure 7(c): Segment 12 Figure 7(d): Segment 13

Table 2(e) lists the results for the clockwise direction of Route 3. The drivers on the route
experience the highest stress in Segment 15 (the highest traffic congestion), followed by
Segment 8 (one-way three lanes toward CBD), Segment 5 (flyover construction), Segment 6
(flyover portion), and then Segment 13 (the highest traffic congestion). Following are Segment
4 (residential road) and Segment 9 (inbound CBD). The most popular basic education high
school in Yangon, a shopping plaza, two famous hotels, a bus stop, and the most famous cinema
are beside the road. Furthermore, cars have to change lanes to the car parking of the cinema,
shopping malls, and Bogyoke Aung San Stadium from minor roads at Segment 8. Moreover,
the drivers experience stress in the most congested road (Segments 15 and 13); then they
experience driving stress in the segment with flyover construction (Segment 5), and then in the
flyover (Segment 6) as explained in the counterclockwise direction. The residential road
(Segment 4) follows, for which the reason has already been mentioned in other routes. Then,
inbound of CBD (Segment 9) follows because of congestion. Figure 8 shows the segment
conditions of the clockwise direction of the route. Finally, by comparing the three routes, the
overall results indicate that the HRV parameters in Route 1 and Route 2 are more statistically
significant compared with those of Route 3.
In addition, this study shows in detail the highly stressful places such as mixed and
confusing places, jaywalking places, lane changing places, sharp turns, rough and bad
pavements, traffic congestion areas and flyover. The driver’s attention is related to certain
driving situations (Eilebrecht et al., 2012). Sena et al., 2014 also found the higher driving stress

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in city driving condition such as road rage contest than in monotonous condition. Consistent to
the above previous studies, drivers experience the highest driving stress in mixed and confusing
traffic places. Moreover, the fact that many drivers experience stress in traffic congestions
agrees well with previous studies (Hennessey and Wiesenthal, 1997; Riener et al., 2009). Our
findings are also consistent with that of Miller (2013) that rough pavements, and heavy traffic
flow affect drivers most undesirably. As with previous research (Sharma et al., 2012), the
drivers feel the driving stress at lane changing places which require their attention. On the other
hand, the fact that the sharp turn places which hazardous maneuver places cause driving stress
is in line with the previous research (Riener et al., 2009). The high stress at jaywalking places
and flyover places are new findings from this study.
Table 2(d): HRV parameters for counterclockwise direction of Route 3
RR SDNN HR RMSSD pNN50 TINN LF/HF LF/HF
(ms) (ms) (1/min) (ms) (%) (ms) (FFT) (AR)
Resting
675.8 40.08 89.61 30.79 7.140 301.3 6.272 5.495
condition
Segment 1 590.8 * 42.89 105.62 * 40.84 12.594 175.6 * 13.081 10.701
Segment 2 597.8 48.50 106.24 48.18 14.424 264.4 7.694 6.506
Segment 3 586.9 48.07 111.08 55.67 16.013 200.0 6.598 5.574
Segment 4 602.8 53.28 100.91 45.24 14.115 295.6 6.480 5.837
Segment 5 633.3 50.75 99.25 37.22 11.583 265.0 6.098 5.395
Segment 6 618.4 53.45 105.53 40.04 11.815 333.8 7.656 7.441
Segment 7 643.7 51.47 93.69 39.75 11.007 346.3 6.639 6.463
Segment 8 626.6 41.66 97.33 50.72 13.786 216.3 5.450 4.949
Segment 9 645.4 43.36 96.33 38.51 12.069 276.9 4.860 5.064
Segment 10 644.3 36.68 † 97.94 42.90 9.976 165.6 * 6.911 5.710
Segment 11 652.2 41.35 95.38 39.64 10.491 266.3 6.602 4.713
Segment 12 703.9 74.48 88.92 36.45 13.054 300.0 10.326 11.045 *
Segment 13 658.1 55.07 95.67 41.27 11.366 469.4 7.147 7.255 *
Segment 14 653.0 42.37 96.28 40.58 10.396 213.1 5.946 5.524
Segment 15 701.1 76.41 101.23 35.42 10.832 395.6 7.636 8.001
Segment 16 -2.7 57.14 71.88 27.21 12.605 278.8 7.922 8.565
†p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

Figure 8(a): Segment 8 Figure 8(b): Segment 15 Figure 8(c): Segment 13 Figure 8(d): Segment 5

Figure 8(e): Segment 6 Figure 8(f): Segment 4 Figure 8(g): Segment 9

Table 2(e): HRV parameters for clockwise direction of Route 3

SDNN HR RMSSD pNN50 TINN LF/HF LF/HF
RR (ms)
(ms) (1/min) (ms) (%) (ms) (FFT) (AR)
Resting 726.0 37.15 85.13 30.85 5.009 345.0 3.291 2.536

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condition
Segment 1 689.6 * 27.87 90.32 * 24.14 3.916 128.6 * 4.067 3.081
Segment 2 711.0 24.60 87.39 19.52 2.616 * 122.1 * 1.790 † 3.172
Segment 3 707.2 * 27.04 87.72 † 22.49 3.033 131.4 * 3.767 3.151
Segment 4 713.9 20.60 * 86.26 22.41 † 2.115 † 123.6 * 2.447 2.547
Segment 5 724.7 21.59 * 85.03 18.54 * 2.102 † 166.4 * 2.514 2.395
Segment 6 716.1 18.57 * 86.58 18.44 † 1.980 * 89.3 * 3.168 3.314
Segment 7 712.9 21.00 * 86.37 17.00 * 2.097 134.3 * 5.119 4.693
Segment 8 722.3 17.82 * 85.42 19.53 * 1.318 † 108.6 * 1.757 † 2.442
Segment 9 729.4 22.13 * 84.52 18.96 † 2.184 † 122.1 * 3.527 3.233
Segment 10 719.2 22.50 * 85.93 20.88 3.244 194.3 3.007 2.117
Segment 11 729.8 21.14 * 84.51 20.88 3.101 140.0 * 2.036 2.274
Segment 12 732.6 21.98 * 84.22 20.65 * 2.989 166.4 * 3.115 2.742
Segment 13 730.2 18.42 * 84.50 20.41 * 2.963 101.4 * 1.999 † 2.610
Segment 14 744.0 21.19 * 82.78 20.10 * 2.043 103.6 * 2.606 2.222
Segment 15 732.8 22.23 * 84.03 17.53 * 1.996 * 145.0 * 4.232 3.866
†p ≤ 0.1, *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

5. CONCLUSION

This study analyzed the driving stress on different roadway conditions with many segments and
different land use areas in Myanmar. It includes three routes on different areas: suburban, urban,
CBD, residential, and industrial zone. The first route starts in the northern suburban area and
passes through the outer ring, older suburban, inner urban ring, and industrial areas and ends in
the northern suburban area. The second route includes only the northern suburban area; however,
it includes both segments that passes through the main highway with and without traffic lights.
The third route passes through the northern suburban, outer ring, inner urban ring, and CBD
areas. Among the three routes, the HRV parameters in the first and second routes showed more
statistically significant values than those in the third route, and therefore, we could conclude
that the drivers experienced less driving stress in the third route. The third route is free from
mixed traffic, motorcycles, bicycles, and any slow moving vehicles because the motorcycle ban
was implemented in Yangon City in 2003. In addition, other slow moving vehicles are
prohibited in a part of CBD and in some main collector roads such as Pyay Road, Kabaraye
Pagoda Road, University Avenue Road, Uwizara Road, and around Kandawgyi Road. Moreover,
Kojima et al. (2015) found that traffic congestion mainly occurs because of crossing pedestrians,
road construction, boarding and alighting from buses, and on-street parking near intersections.
On the other hand, the northern suburban area has the highest accident rate per 10 000
population followed by the outer ring zone and CBD. The reason is that the major ways to CBD
with large traffic volumes pass through the subregion (Kojima et al., 2015). Driving stress
occurs at the roads in the inner urban ring, residential road of the northern suburban area, and
roads in CBD for Route 3 while for Route 1, at the roads in the northern suburban, older
suburban, and outer ring areas. Moreover, the driving stress in each road is different as it
depends on the roadway condition. To conclude, the highest driving stress in each route occurs
in the mixed and confusing traffic places, lane-changing places, jaywalking places, sharp turns,
rough and bad pavements, traffic congestion areas, and flyover.
Further study should also focus on the effect of the driver characteristics such as gender,
age, and driving skill and weather condition. This study focused only on different roadway
conditions. However, the research could be considered as preliminary in studying the driving

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stress using HRV analysis on different roadway conditions in Myanmar. Moreover, the study
has identified the stressful conditions on roadways. Policy makers should concentrate on
implementing systematic road systems with specific lanes, pedestrian crossings in crowded
places particularly in markets, and on having smooth and good pavements. For example,
specific bicycle lanes can prevent mixing of bicycles with other motor vehicles, and pedestrian
signals can separate crossing pedestrians from other traffic flows. Furthermore, median U-turn
systems can alleviate conflicts at intersections. In addition to road infrastructure design
improvements, drivers should avoid sudden lane changes because such actions can cause stress
to them and to other drivers in traffic lanes. Pedestrians should cross the road carefully and obey
traffic laws and regulations. It is expected that by implementing and following these
recommendations, traffic accidents caused by driving stress in Myanmar would be reduced.

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