The Influence Of Different Music Conditions On Drivers’ Attention And Hazard Perception

Hazard perception refers to the driver’s cognitive processes of the obviously andpotential dangerous in traffic situations, including identification, prediction and response. Theprocess of hazard perception is not automated; it’s a task that needs efforts and consciousattention participates.The driver’s attentional performance will directly affect their hazardperception. The study basised on the review of past theoretical and empirical research aboutimpact of music on the the driver’s attention. To carry out a series of studies on the influenceof different music conditions on driver’s attention span, visual distribution of attention,stability of attention and hazard perception. This not only has a certain theoretical significanceto promoting the reacher of driver’s hazard perception, but also has practical significance forthe construction of physiological predictors system of driver’s hazard perception in musicalbackground, for prevention and intervention driver fatigue and distraction, for the popularityof the driver’s training program of self-regulation strategies.Before the formal experiment, this study carried out a questionnaire survey to investigatethe epidemic, functionality, listening preferences and the impact on accident rates of thein-vehiclel music for drivers（N=540）. Provide data to support the subsequent experimentsdesign and selection of music stimulate material.Study1: The influence of different music conditions on driver’s attention span and hazardperception. The aim of the study is analysis the influence of different music conditions on thenovice（N=29） and career（N=18） driver’s attention span and hazard perception in differentdangerous situations. And explore the attentional and perceptual characteristics when thedriver searches the particular dangerous elements under different music conditions.Study2: The influence of different music conditions on driver’s visual distribution ofattention and hazard perception. The aim of the study is analysis the effect of different musicconditions on novice（N=29） and career（N=18） driver’s visual distribution of attention andhazard perception in different dangerous situations. And explore the attentional andperceptual characteristics when the driver searches the whole dangerous situation underdifferent music conditions.Study3: The influence of different music conditions on driver’s stability of attention andhazard perception. The aim of the study is analysis the effect of different music conditions onstability of attention and hazard perception for novice（N=29） and career（N=18） drivers.And explore the stability of attention characteristics and maintain function of the hazardperception. Study4: To explore the reason why the different music conditions affect the driver’sattentional performance and hazard perception. The aim of the study is integrate the effectpath of physiological arousal and cognitive resources on driver’s attentional performance intoa unified model. First, examine the differences in the novice（N=29） and career（N=18）driver’s tasks loading, heart rate and heart rate variability under different music conditions.And then explore the physiological predictors of tasks loading, working states, attentionalperformance and hazard perception. Fainally build the affect model of cognitive load, arouseand attentional performance on hazard perception.Based on the analysis and discusse of the above four studies’ results, this studycomprehensive driving experience, road conditions, the type of music and other factors,discussed the combined effects of different music conditions on attentional performance anddriver’s hazard perception. The study initially established the physiological predictors systemof driver’s hazard perception and proposed the in-vehicle music listening guidelines for thedrivers. The main conclusions were drall as follow:1．Soft music attributes (no lyrics, slow-paced, weak rhythm, and moderate volume) willrelax the driver; reduce their physiological arousal and cognitive load. But in the long run,soft music is likely to cause underload and drowsiness feeling of the driver, is not conduciveto driving hazard perception, and therefore not suitable for novice and career drivers listeningin the monotonous road.2．The soft music attributes prompting the driver to reduce cognitive load, makingavailable adequate attention resources to the driver’s use, thereby increasing the horizontalspread of attention, and prompting the hazard perception process of drivers. Therefore it issuitable for drivers listening in the complex road.3．DJ music attributes (lyrics, fast-paced, strong rhythm, and large volume) willobviously attract the attention of career drivers, resulting in distractibility, is not conducive todriving hazard perception, and therefore not suitable for career drivers listening in any road.4．DJ music attributes causes the novice drivers’ cognitive effort increased, and increasetheir overload and distractive risk, so the novice drivers should be careful to listen to DJmusic in any road condition.5．The physiological predictors system of drivers’ hazard perception can be build byheart rate, heart rate variability and pupil diameter from aspects of the measuring time,forecasting function, valid scene, predict trends and testing significance.