Abstract
Objective: An experiment studied the frequency and correlates of driver mind wandering. Background: Driver mind wandering is associated with risk for crash involvement. The present experiment examined the performance and attentional changes by which this effect might occur. Method: Participants performed a car-following task in a high-fidelity driving simulator and were asked to report any time they caught themselves mind wandering. Vehicle control and eye movement data were recorded. Results: As compared with their attentive performance, participants showed few deficits in vehicle control while mind wandering but tended to focus visual attention narrowly on the road ahead. Conclusion: Data suggest that mind wandering can engender a failure to monitor the environment while driving. Application: Results identify behavioral correlates and potential risks of mind wandering that might enable efforts to detect and mitigate driver inattention.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 13-21 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Human Factors |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2011 |
Keywords
- attention
- distraction
- driver behavior
- eye movements
- mind wandering