Effects of Driving Experience and Lighting Condition on Driving Performance

Novice drivers have a fatality rate that is ten times higher than the most experienced group of drivers. Poor visual scanning skills have been identified as a primary cause of these fatalities. Such skills may be particularly compromised during the night. The purpose of this study is to determine how visual scanning skills are affected by lighting conditions and driving experience. Using a head mounted eye tracker, drivers' scanning skills were evaluated on a simulator. The results show that novice drivers are less likely to scan for risks than experienced drivers in both the daytime and nighttime conditions and both novice and experienced drivers are less likely to scan for risks in the nighttime than they are in the daytime. Moreover, novice drivers are scanning the risky areas less than 50 percent of the time during daytime conditions, suggesting a need for risk prediction training during both daytime and nighttime conditions.