Visual information search in simulated junction negotiation: Gaze transitions of young novice, young experienced and older experienced drivers

Abstract

Older drivers and young novice drivers have problems negotiating road junctions and this is reflected in the accident statistics for these driver populations. Explanations for problems with junction negotiation largely focus on limitations in visual information processing and observation errors associated with age and experience. Investigations of drivers viewing behaviour have used measures of fixation and gaze frequency and duration to highlight drivers information processing and search, capacity and requirements. The use of more specific measures of search strategy, such as gaze transitions, has been less common, particularly for the task of gap selection in junction negotiation. Gaze transitions provide information on the positional relationship of fixations, providing a useful tool for highlighting gaps in driver's visual information acquisition strategies. The gaze transitions of three driver groups (young novice, young experienced and older experienced) were compared during gap selection in right turn junction negotiation manoeuvres. When scanning the junction, young experienced drivers distributed their gaze more evenly across all areas, whereas older and novice drivers made more sweeping transitions, bypassing adjacent areas. The use of a preview strategy in the decision phase was less evident in the older experienced group compared to the younger groups. It is suggested that response preparation requirements of the decision phase impact on older drivers' ability to maintain a preview strategy. The application of results to driver training interventions and future research are discussed. .

Examining the gaze behaviors of harvester operators: an eye-tracking study

“…However, transition matrixes have been previously used to study spatial transitions (gaze shifts). For example, Scott et al (2013) studied the width of visual search while subjects were negotiating junctions during driving simulations, and Underwood et al (2005) studied the likelihood of saccades between road zones during hazard detection in a replayed driving situation. These studies both focused on narrow parts of the driving task.…”

Influence of Driver’s Career and Secondary Cognitive Task on Visual Search Behavior in Driving: A Dual-Task Paradigm

“…Klauer (2006) reported that fixating gaze and allocating more attention to a wide range and a distant area are associated with a reduced risk of traffic accidents. Scott et al (2013) also showed remarkable differences in gaze behavior between young novice drivers and young experienced drivers. The experienced drivers showed visual fixations covering a wider range when entering crossroads than those of less experienced drivers.…”

“…The location of a point of gaze is typically assumed to index the focus of attention (Duchowski, 2007), when a visual fixation occurs. Therefore the fixation location is often assumed to include the most important task-relevant information, where the performers' attention is allocated (Hamid, Stankiewicz, & Hayhoe, 2010;Scott, Hall, Litchfield, & Westwood, 2013). As such, the quality and quantity of information to be obtained is dependent on when (or how long) and where the gaze is fixated at.…”

Drivers’ Visual Search Patterns during Overtaking Maneuvers on Freeway

“…Researchers typically use blinking frequency to evaluate driving fatigue and workloads [7,8,9,10]; gazing and scanning, however, are only considered as effective means to gather traffic information and recognize drivers’ intentions [11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Common analysis metrics include gaze duration, gaze frequency, saccade duration, saccade frequency, saccade amplitude, and various transition-based parameters between fixation.…”