Reduction of highway death and injuries is highly dependent upon a better understanding of the manner in which driving safety is related to such factors as driver age and experience, alcohol use, and the manner in which these factors interact with events in the driving environment. Of Primary importance to this interaction is the driver's attention to important aspects of the highway environment. Further, alcohol has been determined to have its most significant effects on the individual's ability to perform in divided attention situations, which often characterize the driving task. The investigation of the attentional characteristics of young inexperienced and elderly drivers is particularly important in this context, given the higher risk of these groups for motor vehicle accidents. This project provides for the development of a research program involving interactive (closed loop) driving simulator technology that will permit examination of the role of attention in automobile accidents as it is affected by alcohol use and driver characteristics. Eye movements and scan patterns will be systematically investigated to determine the distribution of attention as a function of a variety of environmental, task, and driver age and experience factors. Emphasis will be Placed on: 1) development of realistic and valid simulator based driving scenarios; 2) examination of the effects of distracting tasks, monotony, and surprise events on drivers' attention and vehicle control; and 3) determination of the relationship of driver age, visual functioning, and experience to driving performance as it is affected by alcohol use. The use of a portable eye fixation recorder will enable eye fixation patterns to be determined both in simulator and actual driving situations. In addition, laboratory studies will investigate the interactive effects of peripheral visual stimulation and alcohol on visual scanning and the driver's functional field of view. Special attention will be directed to an examination of the attentional characteristics of elderly drivers and the factors that can contribute to their increased driving safety, as well as the role of driver inexperience and the interaction of this factor with alcohol use as a contributing cause to accidents involving young drivers.
| Mundt, J C; Ross, L E; Harrington, H L (1992) A modeling analysis of young drivers' judgments of accident risk due to alcohol use and other driving conditions. J Stud Alcohol 53:239-48 |
| Martens, C H; Ross, L E; Mundt, J C (1991) Young drivers' evaluation of driving impairment due to alcohol. Accid Anal Prev 23:67-76 |
