[Scanpath of experienced and inexperienced drivers in motor sports]

In analysing the information received by a driver of a motor vehicle, the visual system has an important position because the majority of sensation is processed through it. In this study, experienced drivers (ED) and inexperienced drivers (ID) were compared concerning scan path on a racetrack. Our intention was to study the problem that within each individual test group, similarities exist regarding the view of a complex and dynamic sequence. Furthermore, we analysed the concurrences in the scan path between the two compared test groups and whether we could verify a learning process for the ID. PROBANDS, MATERIALS, AND METHODS: The eye movement and scan path registrations of the eight probands (four ED and four ID) were measured with an eye tracking system based on the corneal reflex method. On the racetrack, the scan path of each proband was recorded with the eye tracking system and was analysed by special software. Therefore, the important objects were divided into areas of interest (AOI).

The fixation duration results of the ID compared with the ED showed a 16.7% shorter fixation duration. The relative frequency of the scan path of the four most important AOI in bend 1 of the racetrack showed a significant difference (ED=78.85%; ID=30.25). The transition matrix showed a zero in all cell for 75% of the ED and 30.56% of the ID. The costs in the string editing for converting the comparing string in the reference string showed, on average, 12.5 costs for the ED and 50 costs for the ID. The learning process of the ID was demonstrated with the transition matrix (the increase in zeros from lap 1 to lap 3 was about 72.72%) and the relative frequency (an increase in observation of the four most important AOI from 20.76% to 34.76%).

The results point to a learned scan path for the ED. Consequently, we were able to show an ideal scan path that emphasises a learning process for the ID.