Whereas a rightward bump is more likely than a leftward bump when walking through a doorway, investigations into potential similar asymmetries for drivers are limited. The research presented here aims to determine the influence of innate lateral spatial biases when driving. Data from the Strategic Highway Research Program Naturalistic Driving Study (SHRP 2 NDS) and a driving simulation were used to address our research questions. Data points from SHRP 2 were aggregated within relevant variables (e.g., left/right obstacles). In the simulation, participants drove in ways that were consistent with their everyday driving in urban and rural environments. Collision frequency, collision severity and average lateral lane position were analyzed with rightward biases throughout both analyzes. SHRP 2 data indicated greater likelihoods of collisions when vehicles crossed the right line/edge of the road and when making a right turn. There were more collisions with obstacles on the right side, which were also more severe, and greater rightward lane deviations in the driving simulation, contrasted with more severe collisions on the left side in SHRP 2 data, possibly because of the presence of traffic. These findings suggest that previously observed rightward biases in distant space when walking are also present when driving.
Keywords: SHRP 2 NDS; Spatial bias; driving; navigation; unilateral bumping.