Gaze-eccentricity effects on road position and steering
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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Driving Simulation in the Clinic: Testing Visual Exploratory Behavior in Daily Life Activities in Patients with Visual Field Defects
Published on: September 18, 2012
Wilson O Readinger1, Astros Chatziastros, Douglas W Cunningham
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany. wor1@cornell.edu
Abstract:
The effects of gaze eccentricity on the steering of an automobile were studied. Drivers performed an attention task while attempting to drive down the middle of a straight road in a simulation. Steering was biased in the direction of fixation, and deviation from the center of the road was proportional to the gaze direction until saturation at approximately 15 degrees gaze-angle from straight ahead. This effect remains when the position of the head was controlled and a reverse-steering task was used. Furthermore, the effect was not dependent on speed but reversed when the forward movement of the driver was removed from the simulation. Thus, small deviations in a driver's gaze can lead to significant impairments of the ability to drive a straight course.
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