VISIBLE DISTANCES AND SAFE APPROACH SPEEDS FOR NIGHT DRIVING

THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO DEMONSTRATE THE VISIBLE DISTANCES THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED REALISTIC DURING NIGHT DRIVING ON NON-ILLUMINATED ROADS. FROM THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA APPROACH SPEEDS WERE CALCULATED THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED AS SAFE FOR VARIOUS CONDITIONS AND STATES OF THE DRIVER, THE CAR AND THE ROAD. FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DRIVERS VOLUNTEERED TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR OWN CARS IN 14 DIFFERENT PLACES IN SWEDEN. EACH DRIVER'S TASK WAS TO DRIVE HIS CAR TOWARDS A STATIONARY CAR, BOTH CARS WITH DIPPED HEADLIGHTS, AND TO BRAKE AS SOON AS HE WAS AWARE OF A DARK- CLOTHED DUMMY THAT WAS PLACED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE BESIDE THE STATIONARY CAR. A SPECIAL EXPERIMENT COMPARED THE RESULTS OF THIS SEMI-DYNAMIC TEST WITH THOSE OF A FULLY DYNAMIC TEST. THE MEDIAN VISIBLE DISTANCE WAS 23 M AND THE 10TH PERCENTILE 15M. THE CALCULATED SAFE APPROACH SPEEDS FOR THE TESTED DRIVERS VARIED BETWEEN 25KM/H AND 50KM/H DEPENDING ON THE CONDITIONS CHOSEN. A SIMPLIFIED PARALLEL INVESTIGATION WITH 974 PARTICIPATING DRIVERS DID NOT SHOW ANY MARKED DIVERGENCIES. /AUTHOR/

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00140139
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 11, No 3, PP 275-282
• Authors:
  • Johansson, G
  • Rumar, K
• Publication Date: 1968-5

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Ergonomics
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 0014-0139
  • EISSN: 1366-5847
  • Serial URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/terg20

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alternatives analysis; Brakes; Drivers; Dummies; Highway safety; Night visibility; Test drivers; Vehicle safety
• Old TRIS Terms: Critical approach speed; Test results; Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220140
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 30 1994 12:00AM