Pupillary and Attention Dynamics in Response to Road Hazard Detection

Hazard perception refers to the ability to anticipate potentially dangerous traffic situations and is a key component of driving competence. This study examined pupil size fluctuations, changes in fixation duration, and the dynamics of ambient/focal attention in a laboratory hazard perception task. A sample of 42 licensed drivers viewed dashcam-recorded videos of real-world driving scenarios while their eye movements were tracked. Participants were instructed to press a key on a keyboard when they detected a potential hazard. Their responses were later categorized as true or false detections. Time intervals of ±3 seconds from the key press were analyzed.