Gaze-Based Indicators of Driver Cognitive Distraction: Effects of Different Traffic Conditions and Adaptive Cruise Control Use

2025-08-14

AI Summary

This study investigates how traffic complexity and adaptive cruise control (ACC) jointly influence oculomotor characteristics under driver cognitive distraction. Method: A driving simulator experiment was conducted, incorporating a cognitively demanding secondary task to induce distraction; key oculomotor metrics—including gaze concentration on the road center, and vertical (longitudinal) and horizontal gaze dispersion—were quantified. Results: Cognitive distraction exhibits a biphasic gaze pattern: heightened gaze concentration during peak mental workload, followed by generalized dispersion during recovery—revealing a dynamic “concentrate–disperse” alternation. Increased traffic complexity significantly elevates vertical gaze dispersion, whereas ACC usage enhances road-center fixation and reduces overall gaze dispersion. Critically, traffic complexity and ACC exert independent, separable modulatory effects on gaze behavior. These findings provide novel, theoretically grounded oculomotor indicators for real-time detection of cognitive distraction in automated driving contexts.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Adaptive Behavior
• Computer Vision: Motion & Tracking
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Trust and reliance of crowd workers and data experts on GenAI
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

In this simulator study, we investigate how gaze parameters reflect driver cognitive distraction under varying traffic conditions and adaptive cruise control (ACC) use. Participants completed six driving scenarios that combined two levels of cognitive distraction (with/without mental calculations) and three levels of driving environment complexity. Throughout the experiment, participants were free to activate or deactivate an ACC. We analyzed two gaze-based indicators of driver cognitive distraction: the percent road center, and the gaze dispersions (horizontal and vertical). Our results show that vertical gaze dispersion increases with traffic complexity, while ACC use leads to gaze concentration toward the road center. Cognitive distraction reduces road center gaze and increases vertical dispersion. Complementary analyses revealed that these observations actually arise mainly between mental calculations, while periods of mental calculations are characterized by a temporary increase in gaze concentration.

Problem

• How gaze parameters indicate cognitive distraction in drivers
• Effects of traffic conditions on driver gaze behavior
• Impact of adaptive cruise control on gaze concentration

Innovation

• Analyzed gaze indicators for driver distraction
• Tested effects of adaptive cruise control
• Combined traffic complexity with cognitive tasks