Influence of dynamic highway tunnel lighting environment on driving safety based on eye movement parameters of the driver

In this study, the non-intrusive eye-tracking system Smart Eye Pro was used to record eye movement parameters while drivers were driving through a highway tunnel with two types of lighting environments. The driving safety of the drivers was studied by analyzing the recorded eye movement parameters. The results indicated that the sharp decrease in luminance would result in the change in the position and duration of the fixation point of the driver. The driver performed continuous visual exploration of the unknown highway tunnel lighting environment; this reflects a strong sense of tension. The decreasing luminance, its lower uniformity, and the flicker effect in the tunnel interior zone, resulted in the increase in the pupil diameter of the driver, and the visual load of the driver increased with the change in the rate of increase in the pupil diameter. The eye movement parameters were more stable in a lighting environment with higher luminance on the tunnel sidewall; the optimization of the spatial luminance distribution of the lighting environment and the use of open sun-screens in the entrance portal are recommended for energy saving and traffic safety in highway tunnels.