Drivers' Cue Utilization Predicts Cognitive Resource Consumption During a Simulated Driving Scenario

Area of Science:

• Cognitive psychology
• Human factors engineering
• Traffic safety research

Background:

• Previous research shows cue utilization impacts cognitive load in novel tasks.
• The effect of cue utilization on cognitive load in familiar driving tasks was previously unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if cue utilization differentiates drivers' cognitive resource consumption during a simulated driving task.
• To assess the relationship between cue utilization and cognitive load in a familiar operational context.

Main Methods:

• Participants were categorized into higher or lower cue utilization groups.
• Cognitive load was measured using prefrontal cortex oxygenation, eye behavior (fixation dispersion), and driving performance (traffic signal compliance, speed adherence).

Main Results:

• Higher cue utilization drivers showed reduced cerebral oxygenation increases, smaller fixation dispersions, and fewer missed traffic signals.
• These drivers maintained higher performance levels with lower perceived cognitive load.

Conclusions:

• Greater cue utilization capacity is linked to reduced cognitive load in qualified drivers during operational tasks.
• Cue-based driving assessments can predict performance and inform training for specific driver groups.