PII: S0001-4575(98)00005-0

Perception of the lead car’s braking was measured on-road when subjects of various levels of driving experience were looking at a digital display located at the lower part of the windscreen, at the speedometer level, or in the mid-console. The brake lights of the lead car were either working normally or switched off. The results indicated that the detection of the lead car’s brake lights, in daylight, is substantially impaired when a following driver is looking at the speedometer area and brake lights do not contribute to detection at all when he/she is looking at a target in the mid-console. Driving experience did not influence performance in detecting a closing headway in peripheral vision, in contrast to improvement in lane-keeping found in an earlier study. It is suggested that such differential ability in using peripheral vision for lane and distance-keeping may mislead experienced drivers when they follow another vehicle and perform certain in-car tasks. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Keywords—Brake reaction time, Car following, Dual-task performance, Novice driver, Perceptual learning, Peripheral vision, Time-to-contact INTRODUCTION to do this successfully between the first 1500 and 50,000 km of driving (Summala et al., 1996). This is Car driving is a real-life multitask activity which is presumably connected with learning to use more practised extensively, typically for hundreds of hours effective visual cues such as lateral speed, and kinesper year. This practice appears to result in a learning thetic and proprioceptive cues [see, however, curve in terms of injury accidents, which levels off in Summala (in press)] but the actual perceptual mechathe driver population after 5–7 years and some nisms are still unknown (Riemersma, 1987; Smiley 50,000 km of driving (e.g. Evans, 1987; Massie et al., et al., 1980; Summala et al., 1996). 1995; Saarinen, 1984; Summala, 1996a). Increasing Such learning helps drivers to perform essential evidence indicates perceptual learning concomitant in-car tasks, to look at the speedometer, adjust radio with this change. With practice drivers learn where and heat, or search for street names and other relevant to search for relevant information and respond to it information in the traffic environment while keeping more quickly (Quimby and Watts, 1981; Summala, safely in a lane. However, drivers adapt their behavior 1987; Theeuwes and Hagenzieker, 1993). Early to changes in their skills, and improved lane-keeping research on driver eye-movement patterns also sugperformance may make them attend increasingly to gests that experienced drivers look at the road farther non-traffic targets such as mobile telephones, other ahead than novices and keep their car in the lane in-car accessories and sight seeing while driving with peripheral vision (Mortimer, 1967; Mourant and (Summala, 1994). Rockwell, 1972). Attending to in-car tasks may continue to be It was shown recently that driving experience is detrimental to detecting the braking of the car ahead indeed related to lane-keeping when drivers have to for the experienced driver, however. For a foveal perform a foveal in-car task continuously and rely in-car task in a given position, the retinal eccentricity on peripheral vision only in keeping the car within of the car ahead (distance away from the central lane boundaries. A marked change appears in ability high-acuity vision) considerably exceeds that of the edge lines of the road, visible just above the dashboard, and other cues that a driver may use for lane *Corresponding author. Tel. : 00 358 9 19123450; Fax: 00 358 9 19123489; e-mail: heikki.summala@helsinki.fi keeping. Practice in lane-keeping also exceeds practice