The evaluation of eye-catching effect in freeway tunnel entrance zone based on fixation behavior characteristics

Abstract

Objective The visual attraction of the freeway tunnel entrance zone will affect the driver’s visual performance and visual workload, and then affect the driving safety. The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of different visual attraction conditions in the entrance zone of the freeway tunnel on driver’s fixation behavior, and then evaluate the impact of eye-catching effect on driving safety. Methods Thirty-five participants were recruited for the naturalistic driving experiment. Four different visually attractive driving scenarios (baseline, landscape-style architecture, tip slogan, and billboard) were selected. Participants’ fixation behavior data were collected using an eye-tracking device. The effects of the visual attraction conditions in the freeway tunnel entrance zones were analyzed on driver fixation duration, number of fixations, fixation deviation, and pupil diameter. Results The results demonstrated significant effects of different visual attractions in the entrance zone of the freeway tunnel on drivers’ fixation behavior. Under the visual attraction of the billboard, drivers exhibited the most number of fixations. And under the visual attraction of tip slogan, drivers had the longest average fixation duration, the smallest horizontal fixation deviation, the largest vertical fixation deviation, and the highest pupil diameter and its coefficient of variation. Conclusions It can be concluded that different visual attractions in the freeway tunnel entrance zone have different effects on the eye-catching effect of drivers, by influencing the fixation behavior characteristics of drivers. Billboard is most effective in capturing drivers’ visual attention, and tip slogan requires greater attention allocation and visual cognitive effort from drivers, resulting in the highest visual cognitive workload. This study highlights the complex relationship between visual attraction and its performance on driver fixation behavior. The insights from this study can provide valuable references for the design and optimization of the visual environment in the entrance zone of freeway tunnels.