Annual Review of Vision Science - Early Publication

Driving is a complex multisensory experience that requires the integration of various sensory inputs to maintain effective situational awareness, with vision and visual attention being paramount for safe driving. However, multitasking significantly degrades a driver's situational awareness and causes them to overlook or misjudge important aspects of their environment, such as pedestrians, road signs, or other vehicles. It also impairs a driver's ability to visually scan for hazards and process vital information, reducing their capacity to notice and respond to changes on the roadway. Multitasking can also induce inattentional blindness, causing drivers to miss important information directly in their line of sight. Beyond diminished visual attention, multitasking also slows reaction times to detected events, increasing the likelihood and severity of crashes. This article discusses the central role that visual attention plays in a driver's situational awareness, examines common methods for assessing visual attention while driving, and presents an updated review of the SPIDER (scanning, predicting, identification, decision-making, and executing a response) model of driver awareness with a focus on visual distraction.