If you’ve ever had to [--1--] the brakes to prevent an accident, you know that the time it takes to get your foot to that pedal can seem like an eternity. Now, German researchers [--2--] cut that reaction time by getting drivers’ brain waves to help stop the car. Their findings appear in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

When you’re [--3--], or doing anything physical, your brain knows what it wants you to do before your body swings into action. Most times, this minor delay between thinking and doing is no big deal. But when you’re moving at 60 miles an hour and the car in front of you [--4--], every fraction of a second counts.

Researchers recorded how quickly volunteers reacted when the lead vehicle in a driving simulator suddenly hit the brakes. Sensors monitored the subjects’ brain activity. Turns out drivers knew they needed to slow down more than a tenth of a second before they get [--5--] the brakes.

That might not seem like much, but if cars could read minds, they could stop 12 feet sooner at highway speeds. Which could mean the difference between a scare and a smash.
【视听版科学小组荣誉出品】
slam on aim to behind the wheel stops short tap
刹车时的心想意动 如果你经历过猛踩刹车以躲避车祸的经历，你才会体会到从你的脚够到刹车踏板的时间是如此的漫长。最近，德国研究人员打算通过司机的脑电波来控制刹车减少时间。他们的研究发表在《神经工程学》期刊上。 当我握方向盘或者做其他体力活时，我们的大脑就在我们的身体付诸行动前知道我们想做什么。而大多数时候，这种介于想法和行动之间的微小延迟是微不足道的。但是当我们以每小时60米的速度移动，我们前面突然停止时，每一毫秒都变得举足轻重。 研究人员记录下了志愿人员对前面的车辆在驾驶模拟器上的突然刹车的反应速度，同时传感器也监测这受试人员的大脑活动。结果表明司机在他们脚踩刹车的十分之一秒钱前久已经知道自己应该降速了。 这看起来似乎没什么大不了的。但是如果汽车可以读到我们的想法，它们就可以在以高速行驶的状态下更早的刹车，节省出12英尺的距离。这可能就是恐慌和被撞的区别了。