The term Useful Field of View refers to the area where our eyes can see, and our brains can process information from different sources at the same time, without moving our eyes or turning our heads.

Let’s say you’re driving down a city street. A light is turning yellow a block ahead. A bicyclist is approaching quickly on your right. A car moves up behind you on the left, an old lady is tentatively trying to enter the crosswalk, and there’s a pothole in the pavement right in front of you.

Your Useful Field of View is a measure of how much of all this information, the stuff that’s being thrown at you from different directions, and at different speeds at the same time, your eye and brain can see, recognize, process and act on. It’s also a measure of your driving safety.

Studies have shown that the Useful Field of View declines with age. As we get older, the focus of our attention narrows and it’s harder to pick out, and process individual pieces of information from a cluttered scene. Drivers with very poor UFOV are six times more likely to be involved in an auto accident than those with normal UFOV.