Evaluation of Innovative Passenger Car and Truck Rear Vision System

Twelve passenger and three truck rear vision systems were evaluated under real-world driving conditions using driver looking behavior as performance measures. Glance duration and frequency at each rear vision device, as well as glances made directly to the side/rear scene, by six experienced drivers during 22 traffic maneuvers were recorded using direct video recording of eye movements. Over 20,000 rear information gathering glances were analyzed with regard to glance location, frequency, duration, total glance time per maneuver, and number of glances per maneuver for each system. Superior rear vision systems were identified and design implications regarding multiple device systems, convex devices and field of view were drawn. Ground plot field of view maps and Docket 71-3a target field of view coverage for each system was determined. A secondary study used expert judgment techniques to obtain estimates of rear scene zone criticality. Criticality weights of zones to the side and rear of passenger vehicles were derived.