00221654

Component

THE RESEARCH DOCUMENTED IN THIS REPORT CONFIRMS THAT AT NIGHT ON RURAL HIGHWAYS MOST MOTORISTS OVERDRIVE THEIR HEADLIGHTS. STUDIES CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE VISIBILITY OF VARIOUS HIGHWAY VISION TARGETS AND THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS LIGHTING CONFIGURATION ON DRIVER PERFORMANCE ARE SUMMARIZED. MEANS BY WHICH NIGHT VISIBILITY MAY BE IMPROVED ARE DISCUSSED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT (A) A POLARIZED HEADLIGHTING SYSTEM IS THE MOST PROMISING SYSTEM LIKELY TO SOLVE THE NIGHT VISIBILITY PROBLEM; (B) THE SYSTEM IS TECHNICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE IN REGARD TO TODAY'S VEHICLE POPULATION; (C) THE SYSTEM WOULD BE ADVANTAGEOUS IN TERMS OF IMPROVED VISIBILITY WITH LESS GLARE FOR MOTORISTS; AND (D) THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD BE INCREASED VEHICULAR CONTROL, SAFETY, AND COMFORT AND PROBABLY IMPROVED TRAFFIC FLOW AND UTILIZATION OF HIGHWAYS AT NIGHT. A PUBLIC TEST AND EVALUATION OF POLARIZATION IN AN ISOLATED LOCATION IS RECOMMENDED PRIOR TO NATIONWIDE IMPLEMENTATION TO DETERMINE MORE PRECISELY THE BENEFITS, SIDE EFFECTS, AND OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS. /AUTHOR/

01035880

HS-011 999

p. 1-23

1971

Highway Research Record

0309019923

Figures (13) ; References (24) ; Tables (2)

Drivers; Glare; Headlamps; Night visibility; Personnel performance; Polarized light; Vehicle safety; Visibility

Driver performance

Highways; Safety and Human Factors

TRIS, TRB

Oct 24 2006 2:39PM

• A BRIGHTNESS INVENTORY OF CONTEMPORARY SIGNING MATERIALS FOR GUIDE SIGNS, WITH DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE
• A MEASURE OF THE DELINEATION POTENTIAL OF COLORED PAVEMENT
• A STATIC SCALE-MODEL SIMULATOR FOR THE STUDY OF VISIBILITY AND HIGHWAY LIGHTING
• CONTROLLING HEAD-LAMP AIM
• ECONOMIC AND ACCIDENT POTENTIAL ANALYSIS OF ROADWAY LIGHTING ALTERNATIVES
• EFFECT OF DAYTIME MOTORCYCLE HEADLIGHT LAWS ON MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENTS
• EFFECT OF DAYTIME USE OF MOTORCYCLE HEADLIGHTS AND TAILLIGHTS ON MOTORCYCLE NOTICEABILITY
• EFFECT OF DISTANCE AND MOTORCYCLE HEADLIGHT CONDITION ON MOTORCYCLE NOTICEABILITY
• EFFECT OF VEHICULAR ROLL ON A POLARIZED HEADLIGHTING SYSTEM
• THE VISUAL ENVIRONMENT: ITS EFFECTS ON TRAFFIC FLOW