Spatial Perception and Operational Behavior of Drivers in Approaching to an Obstacle

This study aims for the new driving skill improvement support system based on driving skill evaluation. We try to define driving skill in terms of "spatial perception" and "prediction". This research can be roughly divided into two steps. The first step is to establish an objective skill evaluation model. The second step is to verify effects of the support system for driving skill improvement. In this paper, we describe that we evaluated driving skill based on parking performance, operational behavior like steering and cognitive behavior like head motion and gazing points. We conducted driving behavior measurement experiment by using a real vehicle to get operational and cognitive data during driving. In consequence, we confirmed that driving skill could be defined by spatial perception and operational behavior of drivers in approaching to an obstacle.