Influence of Driver’s Career and Secondary Cognitive Task on Visual Search Behavior in Driving: A Dual-Task Paradigm

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of driving career and secondary cognitive task on dual-tasking performances and visual search behavior. Twenty male participants were grouped in the following two groups: the experienced group and the novice group. All participants were asked to drive at a speed of 120 km/h while keeping to a lane on the highway and engaging with the following three levels of secondary cognitive task: no cognitive task, easy level, and hard level. The results showed significantly lower correct response rates in the dual task condition (driving + cognitive task) than in the driving only task condition. Novice drivers showed greater decrements in cognitive task performance, particularly in the dual task condition, as compared to the experienced drivers. The total fixation duration decreased as the level of the secondary task increased in difficulty. Experienced drivers showed significantly longer fixation duration on the far-area of the road, and also on specific areas, whereas novice drivers fixated longer on the near-area of the road. In conclusion, we suggest that the importance of perceptual skills in driving should be emphasized and effective training methods need to be applied, especially among high-risk drivers.