What are the visual requirements of driving? On one level, this is both an interesting and important question. However, on another level, it is simply too broad of a question to be answered given the current state of our knowledge. Instead, a simpler question will be addressed in this chapter; namely, what are the visual requirements of vehicular guidance. Even this question is not easy to answer given the current state of knowledge. To begin to do so, one needs both a theoretical framework that links observable aspects of steering performance to the rich database of contemporary vision science as well as a family of experimental protocols that can be used to test and refine the theory. This chapter begins by introducing the reader to the ambient–focal dichotomization of visual functioning and shows how this approach provides a heuristic for contextualizing steering behavior within the domain of neurophysiological and psychophysical vision science. Next, a series of experimental studies that directly and indirectly support the validity of this theoretical framework will be explored. Finally, conclusions regarding current support for the ambient–focal heuristic are summarized together with some speculation regarding future research directions aimed at employing this framework to improve our understanding of visually guided driving behavior. (Author/publisher)
Abstract