Journal
TRAFFIC INJURY PREVENTION
Volume 14, Issue 5, Pages 469-476Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2012.731546
Keywords
visual distraction; electronic billboard; traffic safety; field study; eye tracking
Funding
- Swedish Transport Administration
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: There is an increase in electronic advertising billboards along major roads, which may cause driver distraction due to the highly conspicuous design of the electronic billboards. Yet limited research on the impact of electronic billboards on driving performance and driver behavior is available. The Swedish Transport Administration recently approved the installation of 12 electronic billboards for a trial period along a 3-lane motorway with heavy traffic running through central Stockholm, Sweden. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these electronic billboards on visual behavior and driving performance. Method: A total of 41 drivers were recruited to drive an instrumented vehicle passing 4 of the electronic billboards during day and night conditions. A driver was considered visually distracted when looking at a billboard continuously for more than 2s or if the driver looked away from the road for a high percentage of time. Dependent variables were eye-tracking measures and driving performance measures. Results: The visual behavior data showed that drivers had a significantly longer dwell time, a greater number of fixations, and longer maximum fixation duration when driving past an electronic billboard compared to other signs on the same road stretches. No differences were found for the factors day/night, and no effect was found for the driving behavior data. Conclusion: Electronic billboards have an effect on gaze behavior by attracting more and longer glances than regular traffic signs. Whether the electronic billboards attract too much attention and constitute a traffic safety hazard cannot be answered conclusively based on the present data.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available