Conference Proceeding

Age, Skill and Hazard Perception in Driving

Authors
  • Avinoam Borowsky (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
  • David Shinar (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)
  • Tal Oron-Gilad (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

Abstract

Twenty-one young-inexperienced drivers (17-18 years old, 2.7 months of driving license), 19 experienced drivers (22-30, 7.3 years of driving license) and 16 elderly-experienced drivers (65-72, 37.5) observed six hazard perception movies (four movies included one planned hazardous event and two movies served as control) and were instructed to press a button each time they recognized a hazard. Participants’ eye movements were recorded. Young drivers were the least sensitive in responding to immaterialized unplanned hazards, which occurred after the planned hazardous events. When the hazard was imminent, however, all drivers responded at the same time. Eye movement analysis revealed that all drivers detected the elements in the environment when they were salient, but gazing towards the right at T-intersections characterized only the more experienced drivers. The young drivers tended to gaze straight ahead. This study shows that experienced drivers learn to avoid hazards to which inexperienced drivers must respond. Responding to more hazardous situations, drivers’ knowledge base expands, resulting in a more focused, goal-directed visual search and a higher sensitivity to potential hazards.

How to Cite:

Borowsky, A. & Shinar, D. & Oron-Gilad, T., (2007) “Age, Skill and Hazard Perception in Driving”, Driving Assessment Conference 4(2007), 551-557. doi: https://doi.org/10.17077/drivingassessment.1291

Rights: Copyright © 2007 the author(s)

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Published on
12 Jul 2007
Peer Reviewed