Assessment of drivers’ visual search patterns and cognitive load during driving in curved tunnels

IF 1.9 3区工程技术 Q3 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Traffic Injury Prevention Pub Date : 2024-12-14 DOI:10.1080/15389588.2024.2441879

Lei Han , Zhigang Du , Shoushuo Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study was to assess drivers’ visual search patterns and cognitive load during driving in curved tunnels. Specifically, we aimed to investigate how different curved tunnel geometries (tunnel radii, turning directions) and zones (entrance, middle, exit) influence drivers’ saccadic eye movements. This understanding can inform the development of safer tunnel designs and driving guidelines.

Methods

A total of 30 licensed Chinese drivers participated in the study. Eye movement data were collected using the eye tracker while participants drove through four experimental curved tunnels. Each tunnel differed in radius, turning direction, and zone. Eye movement parameters, including saccade duration, frequency, amplitude, and velocity, were analyzed to evaluate drivers’ visual search patterns and cognitive load.

Results

The results revealed significant differences in drivers’ saccadic eye movements across different tunnel conditions. As the tunnel radius decreased, drivers exhibited shorter saccade durations, increased saccade frequencies, decreased saccade amplitudes, and reduced saccade velocities, indicating increased cognitive load and more frequent visual updates. The turning direction also influenced saccadic behavior, with drivers demonstrating shorter saccade durations and higher frequencies when turning left compared to turning right. Furthermore, significant variations were observed across tunnel zones, with drivers showing the shortest saccade durations and highest frequencies in the entrance zone, while the mean saccade amplitude and velocity were largest in the exit zone.

Conclusions

This study provides valuable insights into how drivers adapt their visual search strategies and cognitive processes in response to varying curved tunnel conditions. The findings highlight the importance of considering tunnel geometry, turning direction, and tunnel zones in designing safer tunnel infrastructures and driving guidelines. Specifically, the results suggest that drivers experience increased cognitive load in narrower tunnels and during left turns, necessitating a more dynamic and frequent visual search strategy.

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弯曲隧道驾驶员视觉搜索模式及认知负荷评估

目的：本研究的目的是评估驾驶员在弯曲隧道中驾驶时的视觉搜索模式和认知负荷。具体而言，我们旨在研究不同弯曲隧道几何形状（隧道半径、转弯方向）和区域（入口、中间、出口）如何影响驾驶员的眼动。这种认识可以为更安全的隧道设计和驾驶指南的发展提供信息。方法：共有30名持有驾照的中国司机参与研究。当参与者开车穿过四条实验性弯曲隧道时，用眼动仪收集眼球运动数据。每个隧道的半径、转弯方向和区域不同。分析眼动参数，包括扫视持续时间、频率、幅度和速度，以评估驾驶员的视觉搜索模式和认知负荷。结果：不同隧道条件下驾驶员的跳眼运动存在显著差异。随着隧道半径的减小，驾驶员的扫视持续时间缩短，扫视频率增加，扫视幅度减小，扫视速度降低，表明认知负荷增加，视觉更新更频繁。转弯方向也会影响扫视行为，与向右转弯相比，司机在左转时的扫视持续时间更短，频率更高。此外，在不同的隧道区域，驾驶员的眼跳持续时间最短，频率最高，而在出口区域，平均眼跳幅度和速度最大。结论：这项研究为驾驶员如何适应不同弯曲隧道条件下的视觉搜索策略和认知过程提供了有价值的见解。研究结果强调了在设计更安全的隧道基础设施和驾驶指南时考虑隧道几何形状、转弯方向和隧道区域的重要性。具体来说，研究结果表明，在较窄的隧道和左转弯时，驾驶员的认知负荷会增加，因此需要更动态、更频繁的视觉搜索策略。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Traffic Injury Prevention PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

10.00%

发文量

137

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： The purpose of Traffic Injury Prevention is to bridge the disciplines of medicine, engineering, public health and traffic safety in order to foster the science of traffic injury prevention. The archival journal focuses on research, interventions and evaluations within the areas of traffic safety, crash causation, injury prevention and treatment. General topics within the journal''s scope are driver behavior, road infrastructure, emerging crash avoidance technologies, crash and injury epidemiology, alcohol and drugs, impact injury biomechanics, vehicle crashworthiness, occupant restraints, pedestrian safety, evaluation of interventions, economic consequences and emergency and clinical care with specific application to traffic injury prevention. The journal includes full length papers, review articles, case studies, brief technical notes and commentaries.