A study of spatial perception of elderly drivers at unsignalized intersections using a head-mounted display

Abstract

This study clarified the spatial cognitive characteristics of elderly drivers at non-signalized intersections, which have spatial characteristics that make them likely to be the at-fault drivers to encounter crossing collision accidents, through experiments using a head-mounted display (HMD). We asked 29 elderly people and 14 non-elderly people to watch 360-degree images from five different inflow sections at two non-signalized intersections under conditions close to actual driving. The results showed the following.

(1) Compared to non-elderly people, elderly drivers have a shorter horizontal line-of-sight movement distance on non-priority roads "before stopping under the stop sign" and "when passing through an intersection after stopping".

(2) In the above section, the spatial cognition of elderly drivers is generally centered.

(3) At intersections where non-priority roads connect at acute / obtuse angles, the spatial awareness of elderly drivers is reduced.