The Influence of Oncoming Vehicles on Automobile Lateral Position

Abstract

A vehicle-following procedure was used to record the performance of automobiles along two sections of a four-lane suburban road. Cameras mounted unobstrusively on the experimental vehicle enabled video records to be made of the vehicle being followed. Analysis of these records showed that, as vehicles approached from opposite directions while in adjacent lanes, there was a systematic linear movement away from the road centerline. This lateral displacement commenced approximately 3.6 s before the vehicles met in one of the road sections and 2.4 s in the other section. The displacement increased steadily up to the point of the two vehicles passing in both sections. The data refute the claim that drivers show a general tendency to steer toward objects of perceptual significance.