Head Scanning Behavior Predicts Hazard Detection Safety Before Entering an Intersection

2021 ◽  
pp. 001872082110391
Author(s):  
Steven W. Savage ◽  
Lily Zhang ◽  
Garrett Swan ◽  
Alex R. Bowers
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Head Movement ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Driver Training ◽  
Hazard Detection ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
Older Subjects ◽  
Scanning Behavior

Objective We conducted a driving simulator study to investigate scanning and hazard detection before entering an intersection. Background Insufficient scanning has been suggested as a factor contributing to intersection crashes. However, little is known about the relative importance of the head and eye movement components of that scanning in peripheral hazard detection. Methods Eleven older (mean 67 years) and 18 younger (mean 27 years) current drivers drove in a simulator while their head and eye movements were tracked. They completed two city drives (42 intersections per drive) with motorcycle hazards appearing at 16 four-way intersections per drive. Results Older subjects missed more hazards (10.2% vs. 5.2%). Failing to make a scan with a substantial head movement was the primary reason for missed hazards. When hazards were detected, older drivers had longer RTs (2.6s vs. 2.3s), but drove more slowly; thus, safe response rates did not differ between the two groups (older 83%; younger 82%). Safe responses were associated with larger (28.8° vs. 20.6°) and more numerous (9.4 vs. 6.6) gaze scans. Scans containing a head movement were stronger predictors of safe responses than scans containing only eye movements. Conclusion Our results highlight the importance of making large scans with a substantial head movement before entering an intersection. Eye-only scans played little role in detection and safe responses to peripheral hazards. Application Driver training programs should address the importance of making large scans with a substantial head movement before entering an intersection.

Minding the Gap: Effects of an Attention Maintenance Training Program on Driver Calibration

2020 ◽  
pp. 001872082096529
Author(s):  
James Unverricht ◽  
Yusuke Yamani ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
William J. Horrey
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Driving Safety ◽  
Driver Training ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Young Drivers ◽  
Maintenance Behaviors ◽  
Target Skills

Objective The present study examines the effect of an existing driver training program, FOrward Concentration and Attention Learning (FOCAL) on young drivers’ calibration, drivers’ ability to estimate the length of their in-vehicle glances while driving, using two different measures, normalized difference scores and Brier Scores. Background Young drivers are poor at maintaining attention to the forward roadway while driving a vehicle. Additionally, drivers may overestimate their attention maintenance abilities. Driver training programs such as FOCAL may train target skills such as attention maintenance but also might serve as a promising way to reduce errors in drivers’ calibration of their self-perceived attention maintenance behaviors in comparison to their actual performance. Method Thirty-six participants completed either FOCAL or a Placebo training program, immediately followed by driving simulator evaluations of their attention maintenance performance. In the evaluation drive, participants navigated four driving simulator scenarios during which their eyes were tracked. In each scenario, participants performed a map task on a tablet simulating an in-vehicle infotainment system. Results FOCAL-trained drivers maintained their attention to the forward roadway more and reported better calibration using the normalized difference measure than Placebo-trained drivers. However, the Brier scores did not distinguish the two groups on their calibration. Conclusion The study implies that FOCAL has the potential to improve not only attention maintenance skills but also calibration of the skills for young drivers. Application Driver training programs may be designed to train not only targeted higher cognitive skills but also driver calibration—both critical for driving safety in young drivers.

Effect of Visual and Auditory Alerts on Older Drivers’ Glances toward Latent Hazards while Turning Left at Intersections

2019 ◽  
Vol 2673 (9) ◽  
pp. 117-126
Author(s):  
Sarah Bakhtiari ◽  
Tingru Zhang ◽  
Tracy Zafian ◽  
Siby Samuel ◽  
Michael Knodler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Older Drivers ◽  
Left Turn ◽  
Require Time ◽  
Vehicle To Vehicle ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
Auditory Alerts ◽  
Hazard Warning

Older drivers are known to make significantly fewer glances toward hazards that are hidden from view (latent hazards) than middle-aged drivers. This is especially true when the driver is making a left turn at an intersection at that critical point in the turn immediately after the driver enters the intersection. This has led to the development of training programs that can increase the frequency of these glances toward latent hazards at intersections. However, training programs can require time and money that many older adults may not have. Advances in machine vision and vehicle-to-vehicle communications technologies make possible the use of alerts that warn older drivers of the location of latent hazards at intersections. This driving simulator study investigates the effect of auditory and visual warning alerts on older drivers’ primary (before entering the intersection) and secondary (just after entering the intersection) glance behavior when making a left turn at an intersection. In a between-subjects design, forty older drivers navigated eight unique scenarios containing latent hazards either in the presence or in the absence of combined auditory and visual hazard warning alerts. The results showed that older drivers anticipated a significantly greater proportion of latent hazards in the presence of warning alerts both before they enter the intersection and after they enter the intersection. The results of this study suggest that a combination of auditory and visual alerts may be effective at improving older drivers’ glance behavior while making left turns at intersections.

scholarly journals Analysis of Drivers’ Eye Movements on Roundabouts: A Driving Simulator Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7463
Author(s):  
Amin Azimian ◽  
Carlos Alberto Catalina Ortega ◽  
Juan Maria Espinosa ◽  
Miguel Ángel Mariscal ◽  
Susana García-Herrero
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Fixation Duration ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Traffic Crashes ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
Simulator Study

Roundabouts are considered as one of the most efficient forms of intersection that substantially reduce the types of crashes that result in injury or loss of life. Nevertheless, they do not eliminate collision risks, especially when human error plays such a large role in traffic crashes. In this study, we used a driving simulator and an eye tracker to investigate drivers’ eye movements under cell phone-induced distraction. A total of 45 drivers participated in two experiments conducted under distracted and non-distracted conditions. The results indicated that, under distracting conditions, the drivers’ fixation duration decreased significantly on roundabouts, and pupil size increased significantly.

Measuring the Applicability of Intersection-Based Older Driver Training Programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (9) ◽  
pp. 878-886
Author(s):  
Craig A. Schneider ◽  
Foroogh Hajiseyedjavadi ◽  
Francis Tainter ◽  
Michael Knodler ◽  
Jingyi Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Older Drivers ◽  
Dropout Rates ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Primary Reason ◽  
Simulator Sickness ◽  
Potential Threat ◽  
Driver Training ◽  
Older Driver

Older drivers remain overrepresented in intersection crashes. Previous evidence suggests that the primary reason for this lies with their lack of scanning for potential threat vehicles while entering stop-controlled intersections. More so, secondary glances prove critical when the conditions obscure potential threat vehicles while approaching the intersection. Currently, simulator-based older driver training programs have proven effective in increasing the frequency of secondary glances taken by older drivers up to 2 years following the training. However, both the need for a full-scale driving simulator and participant dropout rates because of simulator sickness within training programs continue to limit the applicability of these alternatives. This study used a series of micro-scenarios to train older drivers in secondary glances, thus reducing the potential for participant dropouts resulting from simulator sickness. In addition, driver immersion levels varied across multiple training platforms, ranging from low to medium. A total of 91 participants between 67 and 86 years old were assigned to one of five groups. Three groups were provided active, secondary glance training on a driving simulator (one on a low immersion simulator and two on medium immersion simulators), a fourth group was provided passive training using a PowerPoint presentation, and the last group was a control with no training. Following training, all participants were evaluated in their personal vehicles while wearing head-mounted cameras. The medium immersion group resulted in the highest percentage of secondary glances (82%), whereas the control group resulted in the lowest percentage (42%). The results provide evidence to suggest that the training programs using micro-scenarios in medium and low immersion simulators can increase the frequency of secondary glances without having high dropout rates caused by simulator sickness.

A Driving Simulator Study of the Performance Effects of Low Blood Alcohol Concentration

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (18) ◽  
pp. 943-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wade Allen ◽  
Zareh Parseghian ◽  
Anthony C. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Divided Attention ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
And Performance

There is a large body of research that documents the impairing effect of alcohol on driving behavior and performance. Some of the most significant alcohol influence seems to occur in divided attention situations when the driver must simultaneously attend to several aspects of the driving task. This paper describes a driving simulator study of the effect of a low alcohol dose, .055 BAC (blood alcohol concentration %/wt), on divided attention performance. The simulation was mechanized on a PC and presented visual and auditory feedback in a truck cab surround. Subjects were required to control speed and steering on a rural two lane road while attending to a peripheral secondary task. The subject population was composed of 33 heavy equipment operators who were tested during both placebo and drinking sessions. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed a significant and practical alcohol effect on a range of variables in the divided attention driving task.

scholarly journals Neural Basis of Visually Guided Head Movements Studied With fMRI

2003 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 2516-2527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Petit ◽  
Michael S. Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Head Movement ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Vestibular Stimulation ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Oculomotor Control ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction

We used event-related fMRI to measure brain activity while subjects performed saccadic eye, head, and gaze movements to visually presented targets. Two distinct patterns of response were observed. One set of areas was equally active during eye, head, and gaze movements and consisted of the superior and inferior subdivisions of the frontal eye fields, the supplementary eye field, the intraparietal sulcus, the precuneus, area MT in the lateral occipital sulcus and subcortically in basal ganglia, thalamus, and the superior colliculus. These areas have been previously observed in functional imaging studies of human eye movements, suggesting that a common set of brain areas subserves both oculomotor and head movement control in humans, consistent with data from single-unit recording and microstimulation studies in nonhuman primates that have described overlapping eye- and head-movement representations in oculomotor control areas. A second set of areas was active during head and gaze movements but not during eye movements. This set of areas included the posterior part of the planum temporale and the cortex at the temporoparietal junction, known as the parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC). Activity in PIVC has been observed during imaging studies of invasive vestibular stimulation, and we confirm its role in processing the vestibular cues accompanying natural head movements. Our findings demonstrate that fMRI can be used to study the neural basis of head movements and show that areas that control eye movements also control head movements. In addition, we provide the first evidence for brain activity associated with vestibular input produced by natural head movements as opposed to invasive caloric or galvanic vestibular stimulation.

scholarly journals Obstacle Avoidance, Visual Detection Performance, and Eye-Scanning Behavior of Glaucoma Patients in a Driving Simulator: A Preliminary Study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e77294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rocío Prado Vega ◽  
Peter M. van Leeuwen ◽  
Elizabeth Rendón Vélez ◽  
Hans G. Lemij ◽  
Joost C. F. de Winter
Keyword(s):  
Obstacle Avoidance ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Visual Detection ◽  
Detection Performance ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Scanning Behavior

RETRACTED: Impact of Information Bandwidth of In-Vehicle Technologies on Young Drivers’ Attention Maintenance Performance: A Driving Simulator Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 1639-1643
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Young Drivers ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
Vehicle Technologies ◽  
Maintenance Performance

This proceedings paper was inadvertently published after the authors notified the journal of their desire to withdraw the paper from the conference. The paper was not actually presented at the conference. This retraction is being issued at the authors’ request. The Journal, Human Factors, and SAGE apologize to the authors and readers for the inadvertent publication.

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