Quantifying the Consequences of the “Eyes-on-Road” Benefit Attributed to Head-Up Displays

The current research was aimed at investigating two frequently cited claims related to the reported “eyes-on-road” benefit of automotive Head-Up Displays (HUDs). Results provided strong support for the claim that automotive HUDs improve the driver's ability to see forward scene events during the time period immediately surrounding the accessing of displayed information, which suggests that HUDs should improve traffic safety. This HUD benefit was demonstrated with a wide range of critical targets, including pedestrians and bicyclists. In addition, results provided some support for the claim that automotive HUDs reduce the driver's re-focusing times from the outside world to the display.