Peripheral HUD Alerting and Driving Performance

Abstract

We examined driving performance using the Lane Change Test combined with a Peripheral Detection Task (PDT) that approximated stimuli crossing in front of the driver’s vehicle, in order to measure performance on driving and critical event detection. For the PDT task, critical events were signaled by either a color cue, a flashing cue or combination color-flashing cue. These were compared to a no-cue condition. Driving performance and event detection were measured. All effects of the PDT on driving performance were nonsignificant. Color cues significantly reduced reaction time, but flashing cues increased reaction time. These results indicate that cues to events in the driver’s periphery did not impair driving performance, at least for the simple driving task used here. Moreover, color cueing by itself was more effective than either flashing or color-flashing cues in detecting peripheral events.