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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

IMPROVING DRIVER VISION

RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE WHERE, WITHIN THE FIELD OF VIEW, DRIVERS CAN OBTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT TRAFFIC THAT IS APPROACHING INTERSECTIONS AND EXPRESSWAY MERGE POINTS. ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL OUTPUTS OF THE RESEARCH IS A SERIES OF MATHEMATICAL AND STATISTICAL EXPRESSIONS THAT WILL ALLOW A VEHICLE DESIGNER TO DETERMINE WHERE MERGING TRAFFIC IS LIKELY TO APPEAR WITHIN THE DRIVER'S FIELD OF VIEW. THESE EQUATIONS WERE DESIGNED TO USE THE SAE EYELLIPSE (OR REVISIONS) WHICH DEFINES WHERE DRIVERS EYES WILL BE LOCATED WITHIN THE VEHICLE PACKAGES. IN A SECOND PHASE OF THE PROJECT, VELOCITY AND ACCELERATION PATTERNS OF 11,000 VEHICLES WERE MEASURED AT NINE FREEWAY MERGE POINTS. THESE DATA WERE USED AS INPUT TO THE COMPUTERIZED EQUATIONS TO DEFINE SIGHT-LINES TO MERGING VEHICLES THAT WOULD BE STRUCK IF NOT SEEN BY THE DRIVER. IN THE THIRD PHASE OF THE PROJECT, DRIVER EYE-MOVEMENT AND SEARCH DATA WERE COLLECTED IN 130 MERGING MANEUVERS INVOLVING OVER 10,000 EYE FIXATIONS. RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE MOST LIKELY LOCATION OF THE COLLISION VEHICLES, 10 SEC PRIOR TO COLLISION, IS IN THE DRIVERS FORWARD AND/OR REAR FIELDS OF VEIW. THE RESULTS ALSO SUGGEST THAT VEHICLE DESIGN MUST BE SUCH THAT IN MERGING SITUATIONS, THE DRIVER MAY BE WARNED IN A 20-SEC TIME-DISTANCE ZONE CENTERED AT THE NOSE OF THE RAMP. QUSETIONS STILL AWAITING RESOLUTION ARE REVIEWED.

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  • Supplemental Notes:
    • VOL 82 NO 5 PP 15, 104
  • Publication Date: 1974-5

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  • Accession Number: 00222420
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jun 19 1974 12:00AM