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Objective We controlled participants’ glance behavior while using head-down displays (HDDs) and head-up displays (HUDs) to isolate driving behavioral changes due to use of different display types across different driving environments. Background Recently, HUD technology has been incorporated into vehicles, allowing drivers to, in theory, gather display information without moving their eyes away from the road. Previous studies comparing the impact of HUDs with traditional displays on human performance show differences in both drivers’ visual attention and driving performance. Yet no studies have isolated glance from driving behaviors, which limits our ability to understand the cause of these differences and resulting impact on display design. Method We developed a novel method to control visual attention in a driving simulator. Twenty experienced drivers sustained visual attention to in-vehicle HDDs and HUDs while driving in both a simple straight and empty roadway environment and a more realistic driving environment that included traffic and turns. Results In the realistic environment, but not the simpler environment, we found evidence of differing driving behaviors between display conditions, even though participants’ glance behavior was similar. Conclusion Thus, the assumption that visual attention can be evaluated in the same way for different types of vehicle displays may be inaccurate. Differences between driving environments bring the validity of testing HUDs using simplistic driving environments into question. Application As we move toward the integration of HUD user interfaces into vehicles, it is important that we develop new, sensitive assessment methods to ensure HUD interfaces are indeed safe for driving. 

Full windshield displays (WSDs) have the potential to present imagery across the windshield. Current knowledge on display location has not investigated translucent displays at high eccentricities from the driver's forward view. A simulator study (n=26) was conducted aiming to, (a) investigate the effects of Head-Up Display (HUD) location across the entire windshield on driving performance, and (b) better understand how the visual demand for a complex HUD imagery differs from that for a Head-Down Display (HDD). Lane-keeping was poorer when HUD imagery was furthest from the driver (and for the HDD compared to the HUD). Equally, counts of "unacceptable" driving behaviour were greater for displays furthest from the driver's forward view. Furthermore, drivers preferred HUD imagery that was closer to them. The results indicate that HUD evaluations should account for image location, because of how driver gaze location can impact lateral driving performance.