Strategies of Visual Search by Novice and Experienced Drivers

Six novice drivers drove a 2.1-mi. neighborhood route and a 4.3-mi. freeway route. Eye movements (including blinks and glances to the vehicle's mirrors and speedometer) were videotaped. The visual behavior of a control group, consisting of four experienced drivers, was also videotaped on the same routes. The results showed that the novice drivers: (1) concentrated their eye fixations in a smaller area as they gained driving experience, (2) looked closer in front of the vehicle and more to the right of the vehicle's direction of travel than the experienced drivers, (3) sampled their mirrors less frequently than the experienced drivers, and (4) made pursuit eye movements on the freeway route while the experienced drivers made only eye fixations. These results suggest that the visual acquisition process of the novice drivers was unskilled and overloaded. Thus, the search and scan patterns of the novice drivers may be considered unsafe in terms of impairing the drivers’ ability to detect circumstances that have high accident potential. On this basis it is recommended that novice drivers be prohibited from driving on public roads until they achieve an acceptable level of vehicle handling control and develop skill in acquiring visual information.