Leeds study claims driving in the dark could trick us into speeding
Researchers at the University of Leeds claim driving in the dark could trick us into speeding.
Researchers at the University of Leeds claim driving in the dark could trick us into speeding.
They say restricted vision confuses our brains into thinking we're travelling slower than we are.
The research, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, sheds light on how our brains process what we see when at the wheel.
In the project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, researchers from Leeds’ School of Psychology and the Institute for Transport Studies used a virtual reality experiment to test whether human steering in a driving simulator was influenced by visual speed signals.
The textured ground either side of the road – on the inside and outside of bends – was manipulated to move artificially faster or slower than the driving speed.
Drivers’ steering was found to respond to the average ground speed, irrespective of which side moved faster or slower.
The researchers concluded that the human brain uses the ground movement signal from across the whole of the scene to guide steering, and not just the road edges.
Dr Richard Wilkie, of the School of Psychology, who led the research team, said: “This research gives us not just an understanding of the way humans drive.
“It is not just a case of looking at the road edges and steering accordingly. The brain processes information from the whole visual scene moving past the eyes, known as optic flow, in helping select a path.”
The findings are surprising because road edges alone provide enough information for successful steering, but the brain also uses flow speed information to guide steering.