Auditory Information Improves Time-to-collision Estimation for Accelerating Vehicles

To cross a road safely, pedestrians estimate the time remaining until an approaching vehicle arrives at their location (time-to-collision, TTC). For visually presented accelerated objects, however, TTC estimates are known to show a first-order pattern indicating that acceleration is not adequately considered. We investigated whether added vehicle sound can reduce these estimation errors. Twenty-five participants estimated the TTC of vehicles approaching with constant velocity or accelerating, from a pedestrian’s perspective at the curb in a traffic simulation. For visually-only presented accelerating vehicles, the TTC estimates showed the expected first-order pattern and thus large estimation errors. With added vehicle sound, the first-order pattern was largely removed, and TTC estimates were significantly more accurate compared to the visual-only presentation. For constant velocities, TTC estimates in both presentation conditions were predominantly accurate. Taken together, the sound of an accelerating vehicle can compensate for erroneous visual TTC estimates presumably by promoting the consideration of acceleration.