Driver’s Cognitive Expectancy Violation in White Line Fever Crashes
While the driver of any motor vehicle on a long stretch of highway, rural road, or interstate may fall prey to the physiological phenomena of “highway hypnosis,” it is commercial truck drivers who are particularly vulnerable to this form of cognitive expectancy violation.
It’s a real risk and a significant danger not only to the driver but to those sharing the roadway with them. Highway hypnosis accidents, particularly at high speeds, are horrific crashes where lives can be lost in a matter of seconds.
Understanding the dangers associated with highway hypnosis is particularly important here in Illinois and Indiana because we have so much more semi-truck, big rig, 18-wheeler, and tractor-trailer truck traffic than other parts of the country. A huge amount of cargo is moved by truck through our “Crossroads of America.”
Consider this: Illinois has the third most road lane miles in the nation (only Texas and California have more) with 306,658 miles as of 2021. See, “Road Miles by State,” written by Kristen Carney and published by Cubit Planning on April 30, 2021. And Indiana is spending billions of dollars to boost and expand its roadway systems in order to better serve the state’s economy and infrastructure needs for moving cargo through the Hoosier State. See, “Indiana kicks off 2022 Next Level Roads construction season,” published by The Trucker on April 18, 2022.
Fatal truck crashes are a huge risk to both the trucker, rig occupants, and those sharing our traffic lanes with them. Truck driver fatalities are recognized to be a rising trend in this country. Awareness and understanding of highway hypnosis is important in the fight against deadly semi-truck accidents.
For more, read our earlier discussions in: Fatal Truck Driver Crashes: Record-Breaking Trucker Fatalities According to New Studies; New NHTSA Study Shows Increase in Deaths Caused by Big Rig, Semi, Tractor-Trailer Truck Crashes on Our Highways; and Illinois and Indiana: Both Top 10 States for Most Truck Crash Fatalities.
What is Highway Hypnosis?
When the driver’s brain falls into the trap of “highway hypnosis,” sometimes called “White Line Fever,” their cognitive functions alter. Things slow down; both visual and auditory functions are not communicating information to the brain as fast as in times where the driver is fully alert.
The driver is not asleep. The driver is not distracted by things like a phone or infotainment system. And, the driver is not a victim of drowsy driving. Highway hypnosis is a distinct cognitive condition with its own unique characteristics.
Highway hypnosis may be described as being almost on “auto-pilot” as the driver operates the motor vehicle, often at high speeds since highways and interstates are common sites of highway hypnosis accidents.
How does it happen? The roadway is boring, for one thing. Long stretches of asphalt with little change invite White Line Fever. There are no red lights or stop signs for miles and miles and miles. In fact, the origin of the name “white line fever” comes from the white dividing line of the road itself having the ability to become hypnotic for the driver’s brain. Another contributing factor: the driver knows the route well, having driven it on a regular basis. Cognitively, the brain may perceive it to be efficient to forecast that the same information will exist on the current drive as has been retrieved previously, as a routine in its “procedural memory.”
For details, read Manikandan, S., and Laya Vijayan. “The White Line Fever; A Great Peril: Exploring the Less Addressed Psychological Phenomenon, Highway Hypnosis.” International Journal of Indian Psychȯlogy 11.3 (2023) and “Highway Hypnosis Is Just Around the Bend,” published by the Cleveland Clinic on June 8, 2023.
Expectancy Violation and Highway Hypnosis
Recognized expertise in fatal motor vehicle accidents involves those dedicated to the scientific study of human factors, or ergonomics. The focus is a greater understanding of how drivers interact with their vehicles while in operation.
These experts explain that there is a tremendous danger of a serious crash when the driver’s brain experiences “expectancy violation,” which can occur in various situations. Among them, when the monotony of a stretch of roadway has resulted in highway hypnosis and then, there is a sudden event that slams against the expectations of the driver’s brain. Wham: things are not the same as what the driver’s brain – operating on a hypnotic “auto-pilot” – predicts will happen.
Maybe it’s an animal running in front of the vehicle. Maybe it is a car or truck suddenly pulling into traffic up ahead from a hard-to-see driveway or rural road. Maybe it’s debris like the remains of a blown tire in the middle of the oncoming lane.
In fact, the expectancy violation can be anything that violates the brain’s expectations in its state of highway hypnosis. And the sad consequence will be that the driver has to have more time to process the information and to decide upon a response.
If there is not enough time, the expectancy violation caused by the driver’s highway hypnosis can be the cause of a deadly accident as the driver does not react in time to avoid the crash. And even if there is enough time, if the driver’s brain fails to respond correctly, a mistake can be made (like slamming on the brakes), and a fatal crash will still be the result.
For more on expectancy violation, read:
- Understanding Driver Failures in Fatal Accidents: The Human Factor and Expectancy Violation
- Fatal Car Accident and Deadly Truck Crash Investigations: What is Expectancy Violation?
Highway Hypnosis Crashes in Illinois and Indiana
The result of a driver falling into highway hypnosis is a form of expectancy violation. If there is a sudden danger in the roadway, that driver will likely fail to recognize the risk at all – or the driver’s brain will process the information so slowly that reaction times will be insufficient to respond in ways to avoid the collision.
This danger is particularly dire for our truckers who provide an invaluable service to our local community and the country as a whole, moving goods and products from ports and warehouses to their distribution points. The pressure on our trucking industry is well-known and the need to meet a delivery deadline may serve to exacerbate the risk of highway hypnosis expectancy violation accidents with heartbreaking results.
See:
- Teen Drivers, Adolescent Brain Development, and the Danger of Deadly Car Crashes
- Teen Truckers in Indiana and Illinois: Congress Writes FMCSA and DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg
- Driving, the Brain, and Serious or Fatal Injuries: The Neuroscience of Driving in Car Accidents and Truck Crashes
- Distracted Driving, Cognitive Brain Function, and Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Truck Driver Fatalities on the Rise: Fatigue, Speed, and the Trucking Industry
- Motor Carriers Continued Focus on Profit Instead of Health and Safety of Truck Drivers Shown in New ATRI Report
- Inadequate Truck Driver Training and Fatal Truck Crashes in Indiana or Illinois.
Here in Illinois and Indiana, the danger of drivers suffering highway hypnosis is very real, especially for our commercial truck drivers hauling cargo through the Crossroads of America. It is important for everyone to be aware of the risks of driver cognitive expectancy violations on our roadways. Please be careful out there!
