Children's perception of gap affordances: bicycling across traffic-filled intersections in an immersive virtual environment.

This study examined gap choices and crossing behavior in children and adults using an immersive, interactive bicycling simulator. Ten- and 12-year-olds and adults rode a bicycle mounted on a stationary trainer through a virtual environment consisting of a street with 6 intersections. Participants faced continuous cross traffic traveling at 25 mph or 35 mph and waited for gaps they judged were adequate for crossing. Children and adults chose the same size temporal gaps, but children left far less time to spare between themselves and the approaching vehicle when they crossed the intersection. Relative to adults, children delayed in getting started and took longer to reach the roadway. Discussion focuses on developmental changes in how children coordinate self movement with object movement. Copyright 2004 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.