The impact of subjective factors on driver vigilance : a driving simulator study

Abstract

Lack of vigilance decreases drivers’ performances thus reducing safe driving tolerances, as well as the ability to react to unexpected events and increasing the likelihood of a crash (Wierwille, 1994; Wierwille et al., 1996), and in Australia between 1995 and 2005, vigilance decline can be estimated as a contributing factor in seven per cent of all reported crashes and 15 per cent of fatal crashes (Queensland Government). Thus, assessing and preventing vigilance decline can reduce the number of road accidents and fatalities and therefore has been a major issue in the past few years (Bekiaris, Amditis and Wevers, 2001).