Student Research Track: How Distance Display Designs Influence Driver Attention in Forward Collision Warnings: An Eye-Tracking Study

Abstract

This study evaluated how visual variables in Forward Collision Warning (FCW) following-distance designs were associated with drivers’ visual attention. Four display designs were tested in a prerecorded highway-driving scenario with two non-driving-related tasks. Eye-tracking data from 15 participants were analyzed using heatmap visualization and linear mixed-effects models. Thin-stripe was associated with a shorter time to first fixation on the FCW area of interest (AOI) than Wide-stripe and a higher overall glance frequency than the other displays. Percentage dwell time (PDT) revealed AOI-specific viewing patterns: PDT in the FCW AOI was higher for Thin-stripe and Elliptical than for Wide-stripe, whereas Radar showed greater PDT in the WINDOW AOI than the other conditions. Results suggest distinct gaze patterns across displays, potentially related to texture and orientation, but remain exploratory because display order was fixed and visual variables were not independently manipulated.