The effect of a secondary task on drivers' gap acceptance and situational awareness at junctions.

The current studies explored the roles of the visuospatial and phonological working memory subsystems on drivers' gap acceptance and memory for approaching vehicles at junctions. Drivers' behaviour was measured in a high-fidelity driving simulator when at a junction, with, and without a visuospatial or phonological load. When asked to judge when to advance across the junction, gap acceptance thresholds, memory for vehicles and eye movements were not different when there was a secondary task compared to control.

The 'Saw but Forgot' error: A role for short-term memory failures in understanding junction crashes?

Motorcyclists are involved in an exceptionally high number of crashes for the distance they travel, with one of the most common incidents being where another road user pulls out into the path of an oncoming motorcycle frequently resulting in a fatal collision. These instances have previously been interpreted as failures of visual attention, sometimes termed 'Look but Fail to See' (LBFTS) crashes, and interventions have focused on improving drivers' visual scanning and motorcycles' visibility. Here we show from a series of three experiments in a high-fidelity driving simulator, that when drivers' visual attention towards and memory for approaching vehicles is experimentally tested, drivers fail to report approaching motorcycles on between 13% and 18% of occasions.

How does drivers' visual search change as a function of experience? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Novice drivers are statistically over-represented in reported road crashes, with recent evidence suggesting that some of this increased crash involvement may be a result of limitations in their cognitive processing. Such processing has typically been measured by recording drivers' patterns of eye movements, however, the exact ways in which eye movements are reported and interpreted varies substantially between different studies in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review was to investigate whether novice drivers and experienced drivers do differ in clear and reproducible ways in their visual search.

Comparing drivers' visual attention at Junctions in Real and Simulated Environments.

Driving simulation is widely used to answer important applied research questions, however, it is vital for specific driving tasks to undergo appropriate behavioural validation testing. Many previous validation studies have used simple driving tasks and measured relatively low-level vehicle control. The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether drivers' visual attention at intersections with different levels of demand, are similar in the simulator and on the road.

Drivers' Visual Search Behavior Toward Vulnerable Road Users at Junctions as a Function of Cycling Experience.

Objectives: The current study investigated the behavior and visual attention of two groups of drivers with differing pedal cycling experience (pedal cyclists and nonpedal cyclists) towards vulnerable road users at junctions in a driving simulator.

Background: Pedal cyclists and motorcyclists are involved in a disproportionate number of crashes given the distance they travel, with a high proportion of these crashes occurring at junctions. Many studies have found that car drivers who also hold a motorcycle license have increased awareness towards motorcycles.

Comparing car drivers' and motorcyclists' opinions about junction crashes.

Motorcyclists are involved in a disproportionate number of crashes given the distance they travel, with a high proportion of these crashes occurring at junctions. Despite car drivers being solely responsible for many road crashes involving a motorcycle, previous research has mostly focussed on understanding motorcyclists' attitudes towards their own safety. We compared car drivers' (n = 102) and motorcyclists' (n = 579) opinions about junction crashes using a web-based questionnaire.