Title: Does the windshield wiper impede a driver's vision?

Authors: A.S. Cohen, H. Fischer

Addresses: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. ' Department of Behavioral Sciences, Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract: Does the movement of windshield wipers impede a driver|s vision? To study this question drivers| eye movements were recorded with windshield wipers off and on. It was assumed that impeded vision would be manifested by a differing pattern of eye movements in the two conditions investigated. The quantitative data for the eye movements were analyzed. This consisted of, for example, the fixation times, the amplitudes of the saccadic movement (as well as its horizontal and vertical components) and the relationship between the position of the eyes and that of the head. The results suggest that operated windshield wipers do not impair vision. However, the relation between the eyes and the head is affected when the windshield wiper is on, which we suppose to be a result of a compensatory process. The results are discussed in terms of focusing attention on the road which is accompanied by binocular phenomena like suppression of one foveal image, when the two images range beyond the Panums area whereby the prevalence of the image focused on facilitates the uninterrupted information flow from the scenery ahead. The maintenance of uninterrupted relevant information flow is, we suppose, facilitated by processes that favour information being targeted at the focus of visual attention.

Keywords: windshield wipers; driver vision; eye movement; fixation time; weather conditions; windscreen wipers; vehicle design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1988.061525

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1988 Vol.9 No.4/5, pp.533 - 541

Published online: 26 May 2014 *

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