Gaze guidance reduces the number of collisions with pedestrians in a driving simulator

Our study explores the potential of gaze guidance in driving and analyzes eye movements and driving behavior in safety-critical situations. We collected eye movements from subjects instructed to drive predetermined routes in a driving simulator. While driving, the subjects performed various cognitive tasks designed to divert their attention away from the road. The 30 subjects were equally divided in two groups, a control and a gaze guidance group. For the latter, potentially dangerous events, such as a pedestrian suddenly crossing the street, were highlighted with temporally transient gaze-contingent cues, which were triggered if the subject did not look at the pedestrian. For the group that drove with gaze guidance, eye movements have a reduced variability after the gaze-capturing event and shorter reaction times to it. More importantly, gaze guidance leads to a safer driving behavior and a significantly reduced number of collisions.