Effectiveness of Visual Collision Warning Alerts on Young Drivers’ Latent Hazard Anticipation

Forward roadway collision warning systems can reduce rear-end collisions, among other unsafe behaviors. Previous studies have shown that young drivers fail to scan adequately for latent hazards. The current driving simulator study investigates the effect of visual collision warning messages on drivers’ hazard anticipation ability, when presented either 2s, 3s or 4s in advance of a potential threat. This experiment examined the latent hazard anticipation behavior of fortyeight young drivers aged 18-25 across eight unique scenarios both, in the presence, and absence of visual collision warning alerts. The analysis of glance data captured using an eye tracker, show that visual warning messages significantly increased the proportion of latent hazards anticipated regardless of hazard type (pedestrian or vehicle). The 2s warning duration was found to statistically have the same effect on hazard anticipation compared to the 3s and 4s warning thresholds. The study has potential implications for the effective design of forward collision warning systems.