Crashing Left vs. Right: Examining Navigation Asymmetries Using the SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Factors
• Transportation Safety

Background:

• Pseudoneglect, a leftward attentional bias, shows age-related differences in lab settings.
• Previous research on spatial bias has primarily used controlled laboratory environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between age and navigational asymmetry in a naturalistic driving context.
• To compare real-world driving crash data with laboratory findings on spatial bias.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (SHRP2 NDS) database.
• Analyzed impact locations from 1,465 crashes and 2,722 near-crashes involving 3,546 participants.
• Correlated vehicle impact location with participant age and gender.

Main Results:

• The most frequent impact location for both crashes and near-crashes was the front of the vehicle, regardless of age.
• Contrary to laboratory findings, age was not significantly associated with impact location in real-world driving events.
• Crashes were 1.41 times more likely to occur on the left side of the vehicle than the right.

Conclusions:

• Real-world driving data do not support age-dependent spatial asymmetries observed in laboratory settings.
• A consistent left-side bias in crash occurrence was identified in naturalistic driving.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering naturalistic settings when applying laboratory-based research on navigational asymmetry.