Sex and Age Differences in Attention Allocation during Highway Lane-Change Process: An Eye-Tracking Study

Lane-change maneuvers represent high-risk operations in highway driving, with drivers’ attention allocation strategies playing a crucial role in safety. In this study, driving simulation and eye-tracking technology were employed to investigate visual attention allocation patterns during lane-change execution in 38 drivers (26 men, 12 women; 21 young adults aged 20–36 years, 17 middle-aged adults aged 37–62 years). The lane-change process was divided into pre-change and post-change phases, with seven areas of interest established. Statistical analyses employed nonparametric tests based on normality assessments to examine sex and age effects. The findings reveal distinct attention allocation patterns. (1) Male drivers exhibited a mirror-dependent monitoring pattern, with fixation time ratios on rearview mirrors reaching 20.5% during right lane-change preparation, approximately 2.4 times higher than that of women (8.4%), enabling gap assessment. Female drivers demonstrated a forward-concentrated pattern with parameter verification, allocating 62.3% attention to the front target lane while maintaining systematic dashboard monitoring (up to 4.4%) for speed verification. (2) Young drivers displayed forward-concentrated patterns with parameter verification, maintaining over 70% attention to the front target lane. Middle-aged drivers exhibited multireference integrated patterns, with significantly higher reliance on target lane lines and mirrors (14.8% versus 10.6% for youth), reflecting mature strategies developed through driving experience. Cross-study comparisons with actual road research validated these patterns’ robustness. These findings provide empirical foundations for personalized advanced driver assistance systems design and targeted driver training programs, offering theoretical and practical implications for enhancing highway driving safety.