USEFULFIELD OF VIEW AND RISK OF ACCIDENT IN SIMULATED CAR DRIVING

This study investigated the relationship between Useful Field of View and simulator -driving performance measure s. Ninety profe ssional dr ivers, aged 22-65 years from several gove rnmen t organizat ions vo luntarily participated at this study. Useful Field of View was measured by a computerized task was developed at the present study . The participant s then performed a driv ing simu lator task and expe rienced a scenario that could lead to an accident. Reaction time and spe ed were measured and recorded by simulator and ge neral driving performance and collision events were recorded by examiner. The reduction of Useful Field of View based on subject s err or score on Useful Fie ld of View subtests between young and old group stat istically was analyzed. Correlation analyses used to examine the relationship amo ng the Use ful Field of View as an independent variable and driving performance measures as a dependent variab les. A univar iate logistic regression ana lysis was used to determine the extent to which red uction of Useful Field of View predict s risk of accident in simulated car drivi ng. There was a signific ant and nega tive correlation be twee n Useful Field of View and simulator performance, on the div ided peripheral subtest (Correlation Coeffic ient=-0.28 ). Stud ent s t-tests revealed significant differences in peripheral scores of Useful Field of View subtests between accident involved and non- involved gro ups. The resu lt of logistic regr ession indicated that 40% reduction of Useful Field of View, reg ardless of age, increased risk of acc ident involvement. Use ful Fie ld of View coul d be used to predict driving performance and risk of accident. The obtained result can help to identify a high risk driver which is useful to licen sing authorities .