Driver's lane keeping ability with eyes off road: Insights from a naturalistic study

Many studies have shown that driver inattention can influence lane-keeping ability. The majority of studies on lane keeping have been conducted in controlled on-road networks or in simulated environments. However, few studies have examined lane-keeping ability in naturalistic settings for the same purpose. In this current study, the relationship between driver inattention and lane keeping ability was examined using naturalistic data for 24 drivers. Driver inattention was placed into two categories based on whether drivers were looking forward toward the roadway (inattention with eyes-on-road) or not looking forward (inattention with eyes-off-road) while engaged in a secondary task. Repeated measures regression models were used to account for within-subject correlations. The results showed that, after accounting for driving speed and lane width, the eyes-off-road significantly increased the standard deviation of lane position (SDLP). The findings from this study are consistent with other studies that show that the amount of time drivers spend looking away from the road can impact drivers’ ability to maintain their lane position. Additionally, this paper demonstrates how driver inattention can be examined with real world data while accounting for the roadway, environment, and driver behavior.