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Abstract
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Highlights
• Visual search behaviour of young cyclists in a naturalistic environment was examined.
• Children adapt their visual search behaviour in scenarios of different intricacy.
• In poor terrain children look more often and for longer at the path.
• A ‘checking strategy’ of overt hazards was used in a high distraction environment.
The aim of the current study was to extend the findings presented by Vansteenkiste et al. (2017) by examining visual search behaviour to task-relevant and irrelevant features of children cycling through naturalistic environments of different task complexity. Based upon the work by Dozza and Werneke (2014), on the occurrence of critical events in adult cyclists, we compared cycling in low quality terrain, occluded line of sight and in a high distraction environment. We hypothesise that visual search behaviour would be directed more towards the path in poor terrain compared to other scenarios and that a high distracting environment will attract the attention of young cyclists at the expense of looking in the direction of travel. Additionally, based on the work of Vansteenkiste et al. (2017) of the comparison of cycling on poor quality and high quality road surfaces, we hypothesise that visual search behaviour becomes less predictable in more distracting environment ...
... The study provides a valuable insight into the visual search behaviour of young cyclists in an urban environment. Young cyclists successfully adapt their visual search behaviour dependent upon the situations they encounter. A high distraction scenario attracted the attention of the young cyclists, resulting in a reduction of time attending to the direction of travel. Whilst this reduced their ability to spot new hazards within this environment, they increased visual scanning of overt hazards (i.e., path users) to update and monitor their positioning. Whilst cycling through Poor terrain a significant increase in the time looking down at the pot holes was identified, presumably to identify the hazardous road surface to alter cycling behaviour. This resulted in a much more predictable (i.e. less random) visual search behaviour, which was directed at the floor and influenced the cyclists ability acquire visual information from the environment. To maximise cycling safety afforded to children when cycling, ensuring they have sufficient opportunity to look around when cycling, being able to identify potential dangers / hazards, town planners must consider the implications of not sufficiently maintaining cycle path terrain and the use of shared (i.e., pedestrian/cyclist) paths in urban environment and distracting environments.
Language: en |