Visual Search While Ambulance Driving Effects of Driving Contexts
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Abstract
This study aims to document the visual search of experienced ambulance drivers in different simulated driving task scenarios. The cohort consisted of 16 experienced paramedics (4 women and 12 men, aged 38 ± 8.3 years, 16 ± 9 years of experience). Each participant completed fifteen minutes of simulation driving tasks. Ten visual regions of interest and 12 driving situations, divided into three driving contexts (one non-urgent and two urgent), were selected. The findings suggested that the ambulance drivers' strategies were adaptive, assisting them in detecting potential hazards. It was observed that when the driving demands increase, experienced ambulance drivers had longer fixation times, more frequent scanning, and a greater variety of search patterns. The study also suggests that experienced ambulance drivers may employ similar visual search strategies to those used by other experienced drivers, as the literature shows. Tailored interventions should be developed to enhance this important skill.
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