Driving with hemianopia: IV. Head scanning and detection at intersections in a simulator.

Purpose: Using a driving simulator, we examined the effects of homonymous hemianopia (HH) on head scanning behaviors at intersections and evaluated the role of inadequate head scanning in detection failures.

Methods: Fourteen people with complete HH and without cognitive decline or visual neglect and 12 normally sighted (NV) current drivers participated. They drove in an urban environment following predetermined routes, which included multiple intersections.

Driving with hemianopia, II: lane position and steering in a driving simulator.

Purpose: The hypothesis that drivers with homonymous hemianopia (HH) would take a lane position that increased the safety margin on their blind side was tested with a driving simulator.

Methods: Twelve participants with HH (six right HH and six left; nine men; mean age, 50 years; range 31-72), and 12 matched current drivers with normal vision (NV) each completed approximately 120 minutes of simulator driving. Lane position and steering stability were evaluated for specific road segment types (straight segments, curves, and turns) in city and rural undivided highway driving.

Driving with hemianopia, I: Detection performance in a driving simulator.

Purpose: This study was designed to examine the effect of homonymous hemianopia (HH) on detection of pedestrian figures in multiple realistic and hazardous situations within the controlled environment of a driving simulator.

Methods: Twelve people with complete HH and without visual neglect or cognitive decline and 12 matched (age, sex, and years of driving experience) normally sighted (NV) drivers participated. They drove predetermined city and rural highway routes (total, 120 minutes) during which pedestrian figures appeared at random intervals along the roadway (R-Peds; n = 144) and at intersections (I-Peds; n = 10).