Strategies of Visual Search by Novice and Experienced Drivers

Mourant, Ronald R.; Rockwell, T H · 1972 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1177/001872087201400405

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Summary

This dissertation investigates the visual search strategies of novice drivers compared to experienced drivers to determine if differences in eye movement patterns contribute to the higher accident rates observed in young motorists. While youthful drivers possess superior psychomotor capabilities, their injury rates are significantly higher than those of older adults. The research addresses whether this disparity stems from inadequate visual sampling of the environment rather than solely from risk-taking behavior or poor attitudes. Specifically, the study examines how spatial and temporal characteristics of search patterns evolve as novices progress through driver education training, and whether standard training is sufficient to develop effective visual habits for detecting low-probability events. The methodology involved recording the visual and control performance of six novice drivers at three distinct training levels: before any driving experience, midway through a driver education course, and immediately after completion. A control group of four experienced drivers was tested twice on the same routes. Participants drove on a 2.1-mile neighborhood route containing nine subtasks and a freeway route with six subtasks. Data collection utilized a television eye movement recording system to track fixation locations, durations, and saccadic movements, alongside instrumentation measuring vehicle velocity, lateral acceleration, and deceleration. The study analyzed over 10,000 eye fixations to map visual activity against specific driving tasks, comparing novice progression against the established patterns of experienced drivers. The results indicated distinct differences in visual strategies between the groups. Experienced drivers looked further ahead, using peripheral vision for lane position monitoring, whereas novice drivers relied on foveal vision, frequently sampling lane markings. Novices also used mirrors less frequently and spent a greater proportion of time fixating straight ahead. As novices gained experience, their fixation locations moved away from the extreme right edge of the highway, and their visual sampling began to resemble that of experienced drivers, particularly in looking further ahead proportional to vehicle speed. However, fixation duration distributions did not change significantly with experience. Control performance metrics, such as braking and steering, improved rapidly in novices, suggesting that motor control skills are acquired earlier than sophisticated visual search strategies. The significance of these findings lies in the implication that driver education programs may need to explicitly teach visual scanning habits, as they do not naturally develop through basic training alone. The study supports a model where driving skill involves coordinating visual input with control movements, transitioning from a cognitive phase to an autonomous phase. By identifying that novices fail to adequately sample the environment using peripheral vision and mirrors, the research provides a basis for improving driver education curricula. It suggests that specific training aimed at developing "good" visual habits, such as looking further ahead and utilizing mirrors more effectively, could reduce accident rates among young drivers by enhancing their ability to detect hazards and manage vehicle control simultaneously.

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Topics

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• novice drivers
• eye movements scanning
• useful field of view
• looked but failed to see
• visual
• peripheral attention

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data
• Methodological Resource: measurement protocol, tool software