Citation

Beck MR, Ericson JM. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2014; 24(5): 14-19, 59-60.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article examines the role of attention in safe motor vehicle operation and examines the factors that affect target detection and multiple vehicle tracking (MVT) while driving. The authors hypothesize that tracking performance is impaired when there are more vehicles to track and that high visual clutter in areas surrounding the roadway will cause fewer vehicles to be successfully tracked. A study was conducted in which participants performed a MVT tracking task of high or low load and the authors measured tracking performance and reactions to a pedestrian entering the roadway. The results indicated that tracking accuracy is better when fewer vehicles are to be tracked, and that tracking accuracy is better in high clutter conditions but only when tracking two out of four vehicles.