A stereo image and high-accuracy positional data were used to generate and populate a low-fidelity graphics model. The data were acquired by a simple mobile mapping system. The use of positional data made it possible to generate automatically a sparse model consisting of a road, central road marking, a green area, and a skybox. This allowed for several applications, such as the synchronization of the model with the video and the semiautomatic population of road signs into the model data. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the model and the video as viable sources for behavioral testing of drivers. The correlations between driver speed in response to the model and the video are presented; this presentation allows for an examination of the effect of the fidelity of the driving simulator's visual cue stream. The study results were used to compare driver speed in a real vehicle with driver speeds in the video and model roads, with correlations of 84.6% (between video and ground truth), 87.3% (between model and ground truth), and 92.8% (between video and model).

Inattention and distractibility are major causes of driver accidents. Using a video playback system with a video sequence taken from a rural Irish road, we compared the speed of those considered as having either high or low levels of sustained attention along the route, as well as, at targeted sections of the road. In addition, we manipulated the video sequence by adding a speed limit sign (augmented sequence) or by removal of the middle white line (redacted sequence) to determine how each group would react. Results revealed that those with high sustained attention showed generally lower speeds compared to those with low sustained attention with a significant difference between the groups at bends. Further, although no difference in reaction was found for any particular manipulated sequence, the high sustained attention group was found to be significantly slower at these locations. In addition, some gender differences were observed, females showed significantly lower speeds on straight stretches of road and at a school compared to male drivers. These results would suggest that both attentional capacity and gender should be considered as separate entities in future driving research and theoretical models.

̶ This paper presents a driving simulator constructed for the purposes of allowing a direct comparison between two levels of fidelity in the driver interaction stream. The driving simulator itself is described, followed by an overview of two types of simulation; the first uses a three-dimensional model of a real world route, based upon data acquired from the Open Street Map standard. The second is a high-fidelity video sequence of the same route, acquired using a portable mobile mapping system. A comparison of the driver response to the route in terms of speed for each the data fidelities are then presented.