Question

Cars entering our field of vision from the side require the use of ___________. A. peripheral vision B. central vision C. both peripheral and central vision D. common sense

Answer 1

A -- Peripheral vision.

Most people mistake driving for something easy and natural because they look at it physically as the chores of turning the wheel and accelerating/stopping. The complexity of driving is not in your hands or feet, it's in your mind. Driving is a complex mental task which is very unnatural to us humans, who spend our life in a walking pace.

Perhaps the most crucial effect is knowing to use your vision. In our life, our peripheral vision is often neglected and we are only aware of our Foveal (central) vision, which allows to see details in focus. When we drive, we need to train ourselves to look forward and FAR ahead, while using our peripheral vision to make sure our immediate surroundings are clear.

The peripheral vision offers a blurred and unfocused, but very broad field of vision, which allow quick distinction of changes of color or sudden movement, which is very helpful in noticing pedestrians, other cars, etc. Our full range of peripheral vision is in fact larger than a full 180 degrees!

When we glance at our side mirrors (with our foveal vision) we expand our peripheral vision so we can see just about anything in line with the front windows and even slightly to the back. If we open our mirrors widely enough, we can achieve a continuous coverage -- where any car/bike will remain constantly in our lateral vision, either through the mirrors or peripheral vision, without disappearing in between