Visual-Motor Coordination While Drifting Through the Corner of an Ice-Racing Track: A Case Study of an Expert and a Novice Driver

Abstract

This case study investigated the visual-motor coordination of an expert and a novice driver during high-speed cornering on an ice-racing track. The frozen track imposes unique task constraints on drivers due to the loss of traction. We Examined the coordination structure employed by the drivers to stabilize task goals in such an uncertain environment. The eye tracker system collected data on eye movements, head rotation, and steering wheel rotation. Coherent patterns of eye-head-steering were evaluated through Mutual Information with a time delay. The results showed that both drivers were forced to deal with unstable, shaky steering under the task constraints of losing traction. The novice driver employed a control strategy that suppressed both head and steering wheel movements. The expert driver exhibited rhythmic head rotation, which may have a functional role in dealing with disturbances by generating stable movement patterns. This study highlights human flexibility and adaptability in response to challenging and uncertain environments. The perception-action system of the expert driver actively generated movements, forming a functional and complementary coordination.