Errors in the detection and discrimination of vehicles: a simple optical model to explain driver and pedestrian misjudgements

摘要

Failure to detect an oncoming vehicle, or misjudgement of the speed of that vehicle, are among the most common errors listed in road accident statistics. These errors are elevated for drivers in the 70+ age group, are more prevalent in accidents involving children and are also disproportionately high for collisions involving motorcycles. This talk will outline some principles of optical looming that result in some counter-intuitive effects, it will also briefly present empirical findings from simulator studies that support this model as an alternative to simple a??distractiona?? explanations of a??looked but failed to seea?? errors. The findings lead to proposals regarding inner city speed regulation, motorcycle headlight design, driver education and possibly the design of screening tests for older drivers.