Older drivers are known to make significantly fewer glances toward hazards that are hidden from view (latent hazards) than middle-aged drivers. This is especially true when the driver is making a left turn at an intersection at that critical point in the turn immediately after the driver enters the intersection. This has led to the development of training programs that can increase the frequency of these glances toward latent hazards at intersections. However, training programs can require time and money that many older adults may not have. Advances in machine vision and vehicle-to-vehicle communications technologies make possible the use of alerts that warn older drivers of the location of latent hazards at intersections. This driving simulator study investigates the effect of auditory and visual warning alerts on older drivers’ primary (before entering the intersection) and secondary (just after entering the intersection) glance behavior when making a left turn at an intersection. In a between-subjects design, forty older drivers navigated eight unique scenarios containing latent hazards either in the presence or in the absence of combined auditory and visual hazard warning alerts. The results showed that older drivers anticipated a significantly greater proportion of latent hazards in the presence of warning alerts both before they enter the intersection and after they enter the intersection. The results of this study suggest that a combination of auditory and visual alerts may be effective at improving older drivers’ glance behavior while making left turns at intersections.
Effect of Visual and Auditory Alerts on Older Drivers’ Glances toward Latent Hazards while Turning Left at Intersections
Transportation Research Record
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board ; 2673 , 9 ; 117-126
2019-05-05
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF VEHICLE DRIVERS’ ACTIONS AT UNCONTROLLED INTERSECTIONS WHILE TURNING LEFT
DOAJ | 2020
|Older Drivers' Pedestrian Detection Times Surrounding Head-Up Versus Head-Down Speedometer Glances
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999
|Effect of Auditory Road Safety Alerts on Brake Response Times of Younger and Older Male Drivers
Transportation Research Record | 2008
|