Publication Details

Effects of head restriction on driver's eye movements and errors in simulated dangerous situations

Type: Paper

Author(s): Schroeder, Stephen R.; Allen, John A.; Ball, P. G.

Pages: 24

Publisher: UNC Highway Safety Research Center

Url: https://trid.trb.org/view/240817

Publication Date: May-1973

Address: Chapel Hill, NC

Abstract: In an effort to investigate the effects of restrictive head movement upon eye movements, two groups of fifteen undergraduate student volunteers, one group with head restricted, the other with no head restriction, tracked a segment of the Aetna Training film. Tracking was done by manipulating the controls of an Aetna Drivo-Trainer Station. Eye movements were recorded simultaneously. The results indicated that restricting the head resulted in more driving errors and fewer long eye movements. Also, it was found that the number of eye movements which adjust for movements of the head (i.e., compensatory) were lower under conditions of head restraint. This was especially true for those compensatory movements characterized by swinging the eyes beyond the desired point of fixation (i.e., overshoots). In general, more eye movements correlated with more driving adjustments and lower numbers of driving errors.