EVALUATION OF FUNCTIONAL FIELDS OF VIEW IN THE REAL DRIVING SITUTATION

The aim of this study was to compare three road journeys selected according to the complexity of their environment in terms of the functional field of static view (FFSV), components of the functional field of dynamic view (FFDV) and the localisation of fixations on the environment. These fields of view were evaluated in the real driving situation through a task involving light spots detection randomly projected on to the windscreen combined with simultaneous recording of eye movements by an oculometer. The main results obtained tend to indicate a lessening of drivers' visual perceptual capacities in function of the complexity of the road environment. More particularly, a lowering of the FFSV occurs in built-up areas, together with modulations of the FFDV which suggest a limited search of the environment. This method of investigating drivers' functional fields of view to complement visual strategy analysis is likely to further our knowledge regarding visual perceptual capacities and processes of information capture in the driving situation. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E106152.