Visual Perception - Identification

[Music] somebody I really right in front of me right in front of me what happened here this man was driving east he was heading east at 45 miles an hour at least I'd say he was going 50 no I was turning South I was going about 30 she didn't even see me 30 m an hour you switched Lanes right in front of me you didn't even signal that you were going I was in front of you you should have seen me how can I see you when you cut in there at that speed one more time this is again individually please there is no such thing as an instant replay of a traffic situation each viewer's perception varies but she didn't even see me I looked but I didn't see him coming is a typical response in an accident situation both drivers had different perceptions of what they saw the eye is the main source of driver information but perception is more than just seeing it is the piling up and use of past experience and knowledge through which we interpret what we see and act on in the present read and try to remember the sentence which you will see next many viewers do not even see the second the in the sentence because it does not make sense in terms of our past experience here's another example this could be a rabbit or a duck or both depending upon how you perceive it if our perceptions differ in such simple visual experiences it is not surprising that they differ in more complex situations in an increasingly confused traffic scene our minds cannot possibly interpret all there is to observe [Music] but we can improve our visual perception by learning to identify important traffic information and by organizing it into meaningful patterns first we must be selective IM movement studies prove we can attend to only one thing at a time and then only for a fraction of a second even when driving in moderate traffic we must be mentally set to identify those Clues which affect our intended path of travel we must also be systematic Highway events may be classified in three major groups traffic controls Highway characteristics and other users traffic controls include traffic lights highway signs and Road markings obstructions and temporary road conditions due to construction are also traffic controls which require a high degree of perceptual skill in driving organizing Highway events requires that the driver identify and interpret traffic signs and relate this to other visual information in the traffic scene almost at the same time a second way to group Highway events is by the condition of the roadway itself or by Highway characteristics in this case a two-lane road with a narrow soft shoulder and here is another Highway characteristic to watch for an area of reduced space as the street Narrows in this case the road Narrows to two lanes as traffic increases on a section of uneven pavement [Music] what changes in Highway characteristics do you see in these scenes here we are in a narrowing situation approaching a section of uneven roadway on a bridge which may have an icy surface in this case we're on a freeway with roadway construction obstacles approaching a foggy area and possible wet pavement and a large bug has hit and become attached to our windshield a third group of Highway events is other users bicycles pedestrians moving vehicles and those parked along the intended path of travel we must continually be alert to identify clues in the actions of other users which will help us predict how they might behave in the traffic scene will this slow moving farm vehicle continue along the right side of the road is it safe to pass what Clues can you identify to predict the next action of this parked vehicle a good prediction is that this car is about to move into the traffic stream there is a driver in the car the brake lights are lit the blinker warning lights are on exhaust smoke tells us that the motor is running and the front wheels are turned towards the street the faster we travel the more information the more clues there are in the traffic scene the greater the load on our perceptual system even in moderate traffic we find it difficult to select organize and be ready for unfamiliar events or changing conditions in the traffic scene developing our ability to identify and organize events reduces distractions minimizes our errors and helps us make reliable predictions we can learn to be more selective and systematic in our perception of traffic events we can learn to identify and classify those changes in traffic controls Highway characteristics and other users of the Highway Scene especially related to our own intended path of travel you are one of thousands of people hurdling along a freeway an inner belt a city street or or an urban Avenue at speeds of from 25 to 55 mph controlling about 2 tons of steel glass and plastic moving past other drivers within distances measured in feet and often in inches good drivers don't just guide machines they are part of an involved and complex process of seeing identifying interpreting and acting upon a mass of information mostly visual which we face every day in an increasingly complex driving situation your life and the lives of others depend upon your visual perception of the traffic scene you can begin by learning to identify traffic controls Highway characteristics and the actions of other users which will make your intended path of travel safe for yourself and for others