Abstract
The observer needs to estimate the TTC with the approaching vehicle while considering its perceptual information along with the prediction of how the approaching vehicle would change its motion. Seventeen people who had experience in driving a car wore a pair of liquid crystal shutter goggles and viewed a vehicle approaching from the right. After vehicle passed the photoelectronic sensors, the goggles changed from transparent to opaque. Participants imagined how the vehicle would continue to approach and pressed a button when they judged that the vehicle reached their sagittal plane. The temporal interval between the time the vehicle passed the sensors and when the participants pressed the button, corresponding to estimated TTC, was recorded. Participants estimated longer TTC in the cyclist or pedestrian condition than in the driver condition,. The results indicate that perceived vulnerability increases observers’ expectation for drivers to avoid crash risk by deceleration.
