Re: Driving and 3d

[P3D Jim Crowell <crowell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:48 PM -0500 8/21/97, P3D  Dr. George A. Themelis wrote:
>
>>Stereopsis is very strongly part of essential driving skills.
>>Yes, one can drive without them, but just like with drinking
>>and driving, a little bit less attention can sometimes
>>spell disaster.

I actually did a bit of libarary research on this a few years ago--part of
a grant application that didn't get funded.  There have been a number of
studies looking for correlations between various measures of visual
function and accident rates, and the short answer is that none of them are
significantly correlated.  That includes stereo and--more surprisingly,
perhaps--the extent of the visual field.

(Keep in mind, however, that these studies can only include people who
actually drive; most--but _not_ all--of whom have passed the DMV vision
tests).

>
>How do you know Larry?  Have you even experienced lack of stereopsis
>with both your healthy eyes wide open?  Why do you equate stereopsis
>with attention?
>

This is kind of interesting, because the only test found so far that _does_
correlate with accident rate (I think it was around r=.2, maybe a bit
lower) was a test of the cognitive ability to divide attention, i.e. to
perform two tasks simultaneously in different parts of the visual field.

-Jim C.

----------------------
Jim Crowell
Division of Biology
216-76
Caltech
Pasadena, CA
(818) 395-8337
jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



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