Sequential In-Vehicle Glance Analysis of Attention Maintenance Behavior for Trained and Untrained Young Drivers

In-vehicle tasks often require drivers to glance away from the forward roadway while driving for relatively long durations. Long in-vehicle glances are associated with an elevated risk of fatal crash involvement. In the current effort, the glance data reported in Yamani et al. (2016) where drivers received either an integrative training program for higher cognitive skills including attention maintenance (SAFE-T) or a placebo program, have been reanalyzed to uncover differences in glance behavior among trained and untrained drivers. By applying two alternative analytic techniques, the summed excess glance durations and the sequential glance analysis, the data indicated that the training was especially effective on limiting the duration of the first glance in the sequence compared to the rest of the glances in the sequence. The results imply that the training program has differential impacts on attention maintenance behavior at different stages of task interaction, such as orienting to, and processing of task-relevant information