This experiment was set up to see if multiple exposure to a road would induce expectations, changes in drivers' fixation time to road signs and coping with changes to the road scene. A laboratory task was developed, simulating a rural road with various roadside objects. In three different conditions, eye movements of subjects and speeds were recorded. The first (experimental) condition required subjects to drive this road (presented on a computer monitor) five times a day for five successive days in order to build expectations. After a large number of rides (23) a change in the priority situation was introduced. In the last ride subjects were given a traffic sign recognition task to see if they had build up expectations about the environment. In the second (control) condition subjects were given the traffic sign recognition task only. In the third condition subjects had to make two rides. The first ride had the environ-ment with the changed priority situation. The second ride was the traffic sign recognition task. The combined results showed that with multiple exposure, subjects build up stronger expectations about the environment compared to the two control conditions. The amount of time subjects spent fixating traffic signs decreased as subjects drove the environment more often. Due to the expectations of subjects, the change introduced in the traffic situation after a large number of rides did not cause subjects to adapt their behaviour adequately when compared to subjects with no expectations. (Author/publisher)
Abstract