Visual Search Patterns for Safe Driving: Proactive Scanning

Updated Dec. 15, 2020

When it comes to collecting visual information while driving, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Knowing where to look and how long for can be confusing for new drivers, particularly when there is so much to keep track of inside your car, right in front of the vehicle and 20 seconds ahead of you on the roadway. To drive safely, you need to adopt a systematic and efficient method of visually scanning your environment.

Immediate range
Secondary range
Target area range
Proactive scanning

Never allow yourself to stay focused on one point on the roadway while driving. Sure, you need to monitor the situation on the road directly in front of your vehicle, but you also need to monitor the gauges inside your car and the situation on the roadway some distance ahead. Organizing a visual search of the roadway is easier and more effective when we sort the things we need to monitor into ranges and switch our attention between these points at regular intervals.

Immediate range

Everything in the area 4 to 6 seconds ahead of you, including the car’s dashboard, falls into your immediate range. The rear of the car in front of you should mark the far end of your immediate range when you are driving at a safe following distance. All the visual information you receive with this range will tell you how to set your speed and position the vehicle within the lane. Therefore, by the time a point at which you need to stop, turn or merge has entered your immediate range, you should already have started the necessary maneuver.

Secondary range

Beyond your immediate range is the secondary range, which covers everything from the end of the immediate range up to 12 to 15 seconds ahead of your vehicle. Any visual information gathered from your secondary range will help you make decisions about your speed and lane position. At this distance, you may prepare to execute a maneuver, respond to an upcoming situation and communicate with oncoming traffic.

Target area range

The farthest range you must scan is your target area range (also known as the visual lead area) which covers the area about 20 to 30 seconds ahead of your vehicle. When directing your attention to the target area range, you should look for all key visual information relating to potential hazards and changes in the roadway environment that may require action as the target area enters your secondary range. You should aim to select a target area as far ahead as possible while maintaining a clear line of sight. This will give you the maximum amount of time to absorb and react to visual information.

Proactive scanning

While driving, you must always keep your eyes moving between these three ranges so that no important information is neglected. The vehicle immediately in front of you may obstruct your view to some extent, though you can maximize your view of the secondary and target area ranges by maintaining a safe following distance and positioning your vehicle appropriately within the lane. Allow a greater following distance when traveling behind very large vehicles, as they may completely obscure your line of sight and hide other smaller vehicles.

In addition to alternating between the immediate, secondary and target area ranges, you must glance at your mirrors every three to five seconds and visually check the space to the sides of your vehicle. Remember that in doing so, you must not take your attention away from the roadway for more than about half a second at a time.

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Safe Following Distance

It is impossible to drive safely and attentively without leaving enough space between your vehicle and the car ahead of you. Maintaining an adequate following distance is crucial to maximize your view of the roadway up ahead.

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The Effects of Speed

Keeping speed to a minimum is one of the best risk-reducing tactics you can employ as an attentive driver. As the speed you are traveling at increases, so too does the danger you are exposed to and the challenges you face.

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Interacting With Other Drivers

Without effective communication between motorists, it would be impossible to predict the movement of other vehicles and negotiate the roadway safely. Attentive, conscientious motorists think about how their actions will affect other drivers and endeavor to behave considerately, at all times. It is not simply a matter of being polite, it is a matter of safety.

Review

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The Importance of Paying Attention

Your ability to fully and consistently focus your attention on the environment around your vehicle is every bit as important as your road rule knowledge and vehicle control skills. Paying attention while driving is an important skill which must not be overlooked while you’re learning to drive.

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The Importance of Good Vision

No sense is more important to a driver than vision. As your eyes are responsible for 90% of the information you receive while driving, good vision is essential in making safe and appropriate driving decisions.

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Vision Impairments

People with less than 20/40 vision do not qualify for an unrestricted driver’s license in most states. However, there are vast numbers of people with poorer than 20/40 vision who can drive safely and legally under a restricted license, providing they wear corrective glasses or contact lenses. Only in extreme cases of vision impairment or blindness will a person be refused a driving license altogether.

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Mental Skills for Driving

The “vision, memory and understanding” trinity allows you to assess and make decisions based on all the information your eyes receive while you’re driving. If you do not receive accurate visual information due to a vision impairment, or do not have relevant memory information stored in your brain to help you make sense of what you have seen, you may not respond to roadway hazards appropriately.

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Proprioception and Kinesthesia

While most of the information we receive while driving is visual, our other senses are important too. In addition to sight, our brains collect information about the world around us via hearing, smell, taste and touch.

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Visual Targeting

Visual targeting is the practice of focusing your attention on a stationary object which is 12 to 20 seconds ahead of your vehicle. As you move closer to your visual target, you should then select a new fixed object within that 12 to 20-second window, repeating this process continually as you move along the roadway.