title: Recording and automated analysis of naturalistic bioptic driving.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  People with moderate central vision loss are legally permitted to drive with a bioptic telescope in 39 US states and the Netherlands, but the safety of bioptic driving remains highly controversial. There is no scientific evidence about bioptic use and its impact on safety. We propose searching for evidence by recording naturalistic driving activities in patients' cars.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a pilot study we used an analogue video system to record two bioptic drivers' daily driving activities for 10 and 5 days, respectively. In this technical report, we also describe our novel digital system that collects vehicle manoeuvre information and enables recording over more extended periods, and discuss our approach to analyzing the vast amount of data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our observations of telescope use by the pilot subjects were quite different from their reports in a previous survey. One subject used the telescope only seven times in nearly 6 h of driving. For the other subject, the average interval between telescope use was about 2 min, and Mobile (cell) phone use in one trip extended the interval to almost 5 min. We demonstrate that computerized analysis of lengthy recordings based on video, GPS, acceleration, and black box data can be used to select informative segments for efficient off-line review of naturalistic driving behaviours.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The inconsistency between self reports and objective data as well as infrequent telescope use underscores the importance of recording bioptic driving behaviours in naturalistic conditions over extended periods. We argue that the new recording system is important for understanding bioptic use behaviours and bioptic driving safety.
authors.affiliation: Schepens Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. gang.luo@schepens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peli
mesh_terms: D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards*; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010865:Pilot Projects; D057566:Self Report; D014481:United States; D014741:Video Recording; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*