Visual gaze behaviour of children and adult pedestrians at a signalized road crossings.

Egan, Christopher D; Willis, Alexandra; Ness, Hayley; Stradling, Stephen G

Abstract

Underdeveloped visual search strategies may be a contributing factor to children's involvement in pedestrian accidents. Although laboratory-based research suggests that the ability to detect targets in a cluttered scene may be less efficient in children compared with adults (Trick et al, 2003 Memory & Cognition 31 1229 - 1237), no study to date has examined this using a real-world, roadside setting. The present study compared the visual gaze behaviour of 8-year-old children (N=5) and adults (N=6) during a real-world, road-crossing task, using an eye-tracker. Participants were asked to cross the road when they felt it was safe. Gaze fixation was analysed using frame-by-frame coding. In the 3 s prior to crossing, children fixated 8% of the time on traffic signs and signals, adults 30%. Children fixated more on traffic-irrelevant features such as buildings and trees than the adults. The children's attention to irrelevant features at the roadside concurs with previous laboratory-based studies and is a likely contributing factor to their involvement in pedestrian accidents.

Citation

Egan, C. D., Willis, A., Ness, H., & Stradling, S. G. (2008). Visual gaze behaviour of children and adult pedestrians at a signalized road crossings. Perception, 37, 149

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2008
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2012
• Print ISSN: 0301-0066
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 37
• Pages: 149
• Keywords: Pedestrian accidents; visual gaze; child development
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/4890