The Role of Drivers’ Perceptual Motor and Safety Skills in Lane Maintenance During Auditory and Visual Secondary Tasks

The objective of this work was to investigate the predictive power of drivers’ assessments about their perceptual motor and safety skills for the variability in lane position during auditory and visual secondary tasks. A total of 66 drivers participated in the experiments and drove a simulated vehicle. Participants equally assigned to auditory and visual secondary task conditions were asked to fill out the Driver Skill Inventory. Results of the multiple linear regression analyses showed that when the auditory secondary task accompanied driving, perceptual motor and safety skills did not significantly predict the variability in lane position. When the drivers who were in the auditory task group only engaged in driving, perceptual motor skills and variability in lane position were found to be negatively related. There was also a negative relationship between perceptual motor skills and variability in lane position in both visual secondary task and driving-only conditions. In none of the experimental conditions of auditory and visual secondary task groups, a significant relationship between safety skills and variability in lane position was found. Findings were discussed based on the relevant literature