Using Eye Movements to Evaluate a PC-Based Risk Awareness and Perception Training Program on a Driving Simulator

Automated driving systems (ADS) partially or fully perform driving functions. Yet, the effects of ADS on drivers’ visual sampling patterns to the forward roadway remain underexplored. This study examined the eye movements of 24 young drivers during either manual (L0) or partially automated driving (L2) in a driving simulator. After completing a hazard anticipation training program, Road Awareness and Perception Training, drivers in both groups navigated a single simulated drive consisting of four environment types: highway, town, rural, and residential. Drivers of the simulated L2 system were instructed to keep their hands on the steering wheel and told that the system controls the speed and lateral positioning of the vehicle while avoiding potential threats on the forward roadway. The data indicate that the drivers produced fewer fixations during automated driving compared with manual driving. However, the breadth of horizontal and vertical eye movements and the mean fixation durations did not strongly support the null results between the two conditions. Existing hazard anticipation training programs may effectively protect drivers of partially automated systems from inattention to the forward roadway.

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Field evaluation of a risk awareness and perception training program for younger drivers

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e577762012-008 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Anuj K. Pradhan ◽

Donald L. Fisher ◽

Alexander Pollatsek ◽

Mike Knodler ◽

Michelle Langone

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Field Evaluation ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Perception Training

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Attentional Control in Young Drivers: Does Training Impact Hazard Anticipation in Dynamic Environments?

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1071181320641478 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 1986-1990

Author(s):

Sarah Yahoodik ◽

Yusuke Yamani

Keyword(s):

Attentional Control ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Potential Interaction ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Top Down ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Young Drivers ◽

Simulated Environments ◽

Training Impact ◽

Perception Training

The interaction between top-down and bottom-up processing is a way to characterize control of visual attention, but it has not been extensively applied to the driving domain. The Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) has been effective in improving drivers’ latent hazard anticipation, a top-down process. However, it is unclear whether RAPT protects drivers from being distracted by salient items on the roadway, diminishing latent hazard anticipation. The current driving simulator study examines the potential interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes by having RAPT-and Placebo-trained drivers navigate simulated environments with latent hazards and a stationary or dynamically moving pedestrian. While RAPT-trained drivers were better able to anticipate latent hazards than Placebo-trained drivers, presence of salient, bottom-up stimuli did not negatively impact hazard anticipation performance in either group. This implies RAPT-trained drivers were able to successfully divide their attention, anticipating latent hazards even in the presence of dynamic, driving-relevant objects.

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Advanced Virtual Reality Based Training to Improve Young Drivers’ Latent Hazard Anticipation Ability

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1541931213601994 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 1995-1999 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ravi Agrawal ◽

Michael Knodler ◽

Donald L. Fisher ◽

Siby Samuel

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Training Program ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Training Programs ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Novice Drivers ◽

Feedback Training ◽

Young Drivers ◽

And Control ◽

Risk Driving

The crash rate for young novice drivers is at least eight times higher than that of their experienced counterparts. Literature shows that the young novice drivers are not careless drivers but they are clueless drivers’ - clueless because of their inability to predict the risk ahead of time that might materialize on the forward roadway. Other error-feedback training programs exist that emphasize the teaching of risk awareness and perception skills to young drivers. In the current study, a Virtual reality based risk awareness and perception training program (V-RAPT) was developed on the Oculus Rift and evaluated on a driving simulator. The training program provides 360 degrees’ views of 6 high risk driving scenarios towards training the young driver to anticipate and mitigate latent hazards. Twenty-four participants in three experiment groups were trained on one of 3 training programs- VRAPT, RAPT and Control, and were evaluated on a driving simulator. Eye movements were collected throughout the experiment. The simulator evaluation drives included six near-transfer scenarios used in the training and four far-transfer scenarios not used in the training but validated previously in other similar studies. The young drivers trained on the V-RAPT were found to anticipate a significantly greater proportion (86.25%) of the potential latent hazards as compared to the RAPT trained young drivers (62.36%) and control trained drivers (30.97%). The VR-based training program is shown to be effective in improving young drivers’ ability to anticipate latent threats.

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Evaluation of a Risk Awareness Perception Training Program on Novice Teen Driver Behavior at Left-Turn Intersections

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2516-03 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2516 (1) ◽

pp. 15-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Catherine C. McDonald ◽

Venk Kandadai ◽

Helen Loeb ◽

Thomas Seacrist ◽

Yi-Ching Lee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Driver Behavior ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Left Turn ◽

Perception Training

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Comparison of the Effect of Two Driving Retraining Programs on On-Road Performance After Stroke

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair ◽

10.1177/1545968309334208 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 23 (7) ◽

pp. 699-705 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Hannes Devos ◽

Abiodun Emmanuel Akinwuntan ◽

Alice Nieuwboer ◽

Mark Tant ◽

Steven Truijen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Cognitive Training ◽

Driving Simulator ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Rehabilitation Program ◽

Simulator Training ◽

Road Test ◽

Item Score ◽

Driving Skills ◽

Subacute Stroke

Background. Several driving retraining programs have been developed to improve driving skills after stroke. Those programs rely on different rehabilitation concepts. Objectives. The current study sought to examine the specific carryover effect of driving skills of a comprehensive training program in a driving simulator when compared with a cognitive training program. Methods. Further analysis from a previous randomized controlled trial that investigated the effect of simulator training on driving after stroke. Forty-two participants received simulator-based driving training, whereas 41 participants received cognitive training for 15 hours. Overall performance in the on-road test and each of its 13 items were compared between groups immediately posttraining and at 6 months poststroke. Results. Generalized estimating equation analysis showed that the total score on the on-road test and each item score improved significantly over time for both groups. Those who received driving simulator training achieved better results when compared with the cognitive training group in the overall on-road score and the items of anticipation and perception of signs, visual behavior and communication, quality of traffic participation, and turning left. Most of the differences in improvement between the 2 interventions were observed at 6 months poststroke. Conclusions . Contextual training in a driving simulator appeared to be superior to cognitive training to treat impaired on-road driving skills after stroke. The effects were primarily seen in visuointegrative driving skills. Our results favor the implementation of driving simulator therapy in the conventional rehabilitation program of subacute stroke patients with mild deficits.

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Using Eye Movements in Driving Simulators to Evaluate Effects of PC-Based Risk Awareness Training

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/154193120404801913 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 48 (19) ◽

pp. 2266-2270 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Donald L. Fisher ◽

Vinod Narayanaan ◽

Anuj Pradhan ◽

Alexander Pollatsek

Keyword(s):

Eye Movements ◽

Risk Awareness ◽

Driving Simulators ◽

Awareness Training

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Head Scanning Behavior Predicts Hazard Detection Safety Before Entering an Intersection

Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ◽

10.1177/00187208211039102 ◽

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.

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

Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ◽

10.1177/0018720820965293 ◽

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.

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