Abstract:

The present study investigated the effects of self-assessed ability and driving experience on the ability to detect, evaluate and respond to hazards, namely, hazard perception. 86 participants took a video-based hazard perception task, using Tobbi T120 to record their eye movement. Before the experiment, participants first finished a self-reported scale and then they were divided into low ability and high ability group according to the mean score of their self-assessed ability in each driver group. A 2×2×2 mixed design was employed, with driving experience and self-assessed ability as the between-groups factors and hazard type as the within-groups factor. 18 traffic video clips, shooting from drivers’ perspective, were used and participants were asked to respond to overt hazard (visible) or covert hazard (partially invisible but urgent) quickly when they detected a potential one. Results showed there were no significant correlations between scores of drivers’ self-assessed ability and their response latency, indicating both novice and experienced drivers have bad insight into their hazard perception ability. Generally, experienced drivers reacted to overt hazards and covert hazards faster than novice drivers and self-assessed ability did affect drivers’ detection and reaction to hazards. Specifically, novice drivers, who rated their ability better, reacted to overt and covert hazards slower than their peers with low ability significantly. This suggests that novice drivers with high self-assessed ability may have a higher risk acceptance threshold, which has a negative effect on their hazard appraisal. Furthermore, no significant differences were found on hazard perception reaction time of experienced drivers with varying self-assessed ability. Eye movement data revealed that experienced drivers spent less time to detect hazards and fixated them longer than novice drivers. Compared with their peers with low ability, novice drivers with high self-assessed ability detected hazards slower and allocated less attention to them, which in turn reduced their safety margin in reaction time. This study suggests that self-assessed bias towards driving ability among different driver group should be reduced, at least properly measured, when it comes to hazard perception training and tests.

摘要：

结合反应时和眼动研究方法，采用驾驶经验2（新手，有经验）×自我评估的能力2（高，低）×危险类型2（明显，隐藏）的混合实验设计，探索驾驶员驾驶能力的自我评估和驾驶经验对危险知觉及视觉注意的影响。采用驾驶能力量表和基于动态交通视频的危险知觉任务对86名驾驶员测试，并使用Tobbi T120记录眼动数据。结果发现，新手和有经验驾驶员自我评估的能力与危险知觉反应时间之间相关不显著，这说明两组驾驶员对自己驾驶能力的认识和评估不准确。有经验驾驶员对两类危险的反应比新手快。新手自我评估的能力过高，他们对两类危险的反应比同龄驾驶员和有经验驾驶员慢。然而，有经验驾驶员自我评估的能力与危险知觉反应时间之间不存在显著差异。此外，与新手相比，有经验驾驶员对两类危险的首次注视较快，总注视时间更长。与同龄驾驶员相比，新手自我评估的能力过高，他们对危险的首次注视较慢，对危险的总注视时间更少。这些研究结果表明，新手自我评估的能力过高，可能会提高他们的风险接受阈限，由此降低了他们对危险的反应速度。未来驾驶训练应当采取措施减少新手对驾驶能力的自我评估偏见，改善他们的视觉搜索模式以降低事故风险。