Driving experience and the functional field of view

Research has suggested that novice drivers have different search strategies compared with their more experienced counterparts, and that this may contr ibute to their increased accident liability. One issue of concern is whethe r experienced drivers have a wider field of peripheral vision than less exp erienced drivers. This study attempted to distinguish between people of var ying driving experience on the basis of their functional fields of view. Pa rticipants searched video clips taken from a moving driver's perspective fo r potential hazards while responding to peripheral target lights. Hit rates for peripheral targets decreased for all participant groups as processing demands increased tie when hazards occurred) and as the eccentricity of the target increased, though there was no interaction. An effect of experience was also found which suggests that this paradigm measures a perceptual ski ll or strategy that develops with driving experience.