Perception of relative distance in a driving simulator1,2

Abstract:  The aim of this experiment was to test, in a driving simulator, how a subject can control his approach towards several simulated car-targets in different driving contexts. We assume that increasing complexity might influence driving performance according to the difficulty of perceiving distances properly. The subjects’ first task consisted of placing their car at an equal distance between two preceding cars. In the second task, the subjects had to place their car level with the preceding car. The target cars were either static or running at 40 or 60 km/h. The results showed a more precise distance perception when the difficulty of the task decreased. In all conditions the subjects underestimated distances. Subjects were better at 60 km/h than at 40 km/h and the performance improved with smaller car distances. In conclusion, the alignment tasks produced better performances than the mid-distance tasks, as a consequence of their lower complexity. However, physical constraints due to the increase in velocity, as well as shorter distances between vehicles, improved performances.

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