The Dual Advantages of Higher Cue Utilization: Risk Assessment in Simulated Road‐Crossing Under Visual Occlusion

ABSTRACT

Visual occlusion by large vehicles can hide approaching traffic and increase pedestrian crash risk. Cue utilization refers to the ability to identify and apply environmental cues based on learned associations. This study investigated how cue utilization influences risk assessment under different visual occlusion levels. Ninety‐three adults aged 18–28 years completed simulated road‐crossing trials in a 2 × 2 mixed design. Risk assessment scores were collected, and eye‐tracking was used to quantify the percentage of fixation time on the hazard area. Occlusion was induced by a yielding bus that partially blocked approaching traffic. Under slight occlusion, higher cue utilization reported more conservative perceived‐risk assessments than lower cue utilization. Under severe occlusion, perceived‐risk assessments converged between groups, but higher cue utilization focused more on occluded hazards. Higher cue utilization showed dual advantages: relatively stable and conservative perceived‐risk assessment regardless of context and refined visual search under severe occlusion.