Evaluation of eye-catching effect in highway tunnel entrance area based on saccade behavior

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the effects of visual attraction in the entrance areas of highway tunnels on drivers’ saccade behavior and driving safety, with the objective of providing insights for tunnel entrance design and driver education.

Methods

Fifty participants were recruited for the naturalistic driving experiment. Four different visually attractive driving scenarios (baseline, landscape-style architecture, tip slogan, and billboard) were selected. Eye-tracking technology was utilized to record and analyze the scanning behavior of participating drivers. Various metrics, including saccade duration, frequency, amplitude, velocity, and the peak-to-average ratio of saccade velocity (PARSV), were measured and compared across different scenarios.

Results

The results revealed different patterns of visual scanning dynamics among the four experimental scenarios, reflecting the different levels of visual-cognitive demands and situation awareness of drivers. The visual attraction in the tunnel entrance area resulted in prolonged saccade duration, increased saccade amplitude, reduced saccade frequency, and slower, less stable saccade velocity. Among these, drivers exhibited the most intricate and unstable scanning behavior, accompanied by the lowest level of situational awareness, particularly under the influence of visual attraction of tip slogan.

Conclusions

The findings highlight the importance of considering visual attraction in tunnel entrance design. Minimizing unnecessary visual attraction can help reduce distractions and maintain driver attention, ultimately enhancing driving safety. Driver education programs should emphasize the significance of adapting to visual attraction at tunnel entrances to promote safer driving practices. Overall, this study contributes valuable insights into the effects of visual attraction on driver scanning behavior, facilitating the development of strategies to improve tunnel design and driver education.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual attraction
• scanning behavior
• tunnel entrance
• driving safety
• visual performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52072291).