Speeding because of time pressure is a leading contributor to traffic accidents. Previous research indicates that people respond to time pressure through increased physiological activity and by adapting their task strategy in order to mitigate task demands. In the present driving simulator study, we investigated effects of time pressure on measures of eye movement, pupil diameter, cardiovascular and respiratory activity, driving performance, vehicle control, limb movement, head position, and self-reported state. Based on existing theories of human behavior under time pressure, we distinguished three categories of results: (1) driving speed, (2) physiological measures, and (3) driving strategies. Fifty-four participants drove a 6.9-km urban track with overtaking, car following, and intersection scenarios, first with no time pressure (NTP) and subsequently with time pressure (TP) induced by a time constraint and a virtual passenger urging to hurry up. The results showed that under TP in comparison to NTP, participants (1) drove significantly faster, an effect that was also reflected in auxiliary measures such as maximum brake position, throttle activity, and lane keeping precision, (2) exhibited increased physiological activity, such as increased heart rate, increased respiration rate, increased pupil diameter, and reduced blink rate, and (3) adopted scenario-specific strategies for effective task completion, such as driving to the left of the lane during car following, and early visual lookout when approaching intersections. The effects of TP relative to NTP were generally large and statistically significant. However, individual differences in absolute values were large. Hence, we recommend that real-time driver feedback technologies use relative instead of absolute criteria for assessing the driver's state.

The objective of this study was to evaluate differences in driving performance, visual detection performance, and eye-scanning behavior between glaucoma patients and control participants without glaucoma. Glaucoma patients (n = 23) and control participants (n = 12) completed four 5-min driving sessions in a simulator. The participants were instructed to maintain the car in the right lane of a two-lane highway while their speed was automatically maintained at 100 km/h. Additional tasks per session were: Session 1: none, Session 2: verbalization of projected letters, Session 3: avoidance of static obstacles, and Session 4: combined letter verbalization and avoidance of static obstacles. Eye-scanning behavior was recorded with an eye-tracker. Results showed no statistically significant differences between patients and control participants for lane keeping, obstacle avoidance, and eye-scanning behavior. Steering activity, number of missed letters, and letter reaction time were significantly higher for glaucoma patients than for control participants. In conclusion, glaucoma patients were able to avoid objects and maintain a nominal lane keeping performance, but applied more steering input than control participants, and were more likely than control participants to miss peripherally projected stimuli. The eye-tracking results suggest that glaucoma patients did not use extra visual search to compensate for their visual field loss. Limitations of the study, such as small sample size, are discussed.

Motorsport has developed into a professional international competition. However, limited research is available on the perceptual and cognitive skills of racing drivers. By means of a racing simulator, we compared the driving performance of seven racing drivers with ten non-racing drivers. Participants were tasked to drive the fastest possible lap time. Additionally, both groups completed a choice reaction time task and a tracking task. Results from the simulator showed faster lap times, higher steering activity, and a more optimal racing line for the racing drivers than for the non-racing drivers. The non-racing drivers’ gaze behavior corresponded to the tangent point model, whereas racing drivers showed a more variable gaze behavior combined with larger head rotations while cornering. Results from the choice reaction time task and tracking task showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. Our results are consistent with the current consensus in sports sciences in that task-specific differences exist between experts and novices while there are no major differences in general cognitive and motor abilities.

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The young driver problem requires remedial measures against speeding and overconfidence. Previous research has shown that increasing the task difficulty during training can enhance subsequent retention performance and prevent overconfidence. In this driving simulator study, we evaluated the training effectiveness of vertical field of view restriction during a self-paced lane-keeping task. Sixty-two young, inexperienced drivers were divided into three groups: a near view (NV) group (upper part of the screen was blanked), a far view (FV) group (lower part of the screen was blanked), and a control group driving with full sight. All groups drove three training sessions lasting 8 min each on a curved rural road, followed by two retention sessions with full sight. The first retention session took place on the same rural road and the second session on a highway. Compared to the control group, the NV group drove with lower mean speed and had more road departures during training. Furthermore, NV drivers reported significantly lower confidence during the training sessions and the second retention session. NV drivers directed their eye gaze more closely to the vehicle during training and both retention sessions. FV drivers approached corners with lower speed compared to the control group during training and had a higher number of rapid steering wheel turns during training and both retention sessions. In conclusion, removing visual information resulted in lower reported self-confidence (NV) and altered steering behavior (FV) in retention sessions compared to driving with full sight. Furthermore, NV training caused drivers to direct their gaze closely to the vehicle during retention, which may be negative for road safety. Possible effects of simulator-based driver training on eye-scanning and safety are discussed.