Children's Road Crossing: A Window into Perceptual-Motor Development

Most research on perceptual--motor development has focused on changes occurring during infancy and toddlerhood. In this paper, we describe our work on the development of perceptual--motor development during late childhood and early adolescence in the context of an important applied problem: bicycling across traffic-filled roads. Specifically, we have examined the gaps between cars that children and adults accept when bicycling across intersections, using an immersive, interactive bicycling simulator. This work highlights both methodological advances in using immersive, interactive virtual environments to study perceptual--motor functioning as well as theoretical advances in understanding the problem of moving the self in relation to other moving objects. We conclude with ideas for future research and practical implications of this work.