REAR LIGHTING SYSTEM CHANGEOVER

EVALUATION WAS MADE OF THE COST, BENEFIT AND SCHEDULE IMPACTS ASSOCIATED WITH INTRODUCTION OF NEW REAR LIGHTING STANDARDS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES AND THE CONSEQUENTIAL CHANGEOVER PROCESS. A DETAILED CHANGEOVER EVALUATION METHODOLOGY WAS DEFINED, BY DEVELOPING MATHEMATICAL MODELS TO DESCRIBE THE CHANGEOVER PROCESS, AND ESTABLISHING FEASIBILITY OF CHANGEOVER MODELING BY ACQUIRING DATA AND PERFORMING TRADEOFF STUDIES USING THE MODELS DEVELOPED. THE APPROACH TAKEN IN IMPLEMENTING THE CHANGEOVER MODEL COMPUTER PROGRAM WAS TO DEVELOP COST, BENEFIT, COMPLIANCE AND CONSTRAINTS SUBMODELS. THESE SUBMODELS ARE THEN INTEGRATED BY AN EXECUTIVE MODEL. THE CHANGEOVER COMPUTER MODEL WAS EXERCISED TO CALIBRATE THE INPUT ASSUMPTIONS, DETERMINE SENSITIVITY TO KEY VARIABLES, PERFORM REAR LIGHTING SYSTEM COMPARISONS, AND EXPLORE THE QUANTITATIVE TRADEOFFS BETWEEN THE CHANGEOVER PARAMETERS. A COMPARISON OF A SIMPLE TWO-COLOR DISPLAY SYSTEM WITH A ROOF LINE DISPLAY SYSTEM IS PRESENTED TO ILLUSTRATE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE CHANGEOVER MODEL. THE EVALUATION MODELS DEVELOPED APPEAR TO PERMIT THE EFFECTIVE EVALUATIONS OF STANDARDS AND MANDATES. IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT SOME POSSIBLE REAR LIGHTING SAFETY STANDARDS CAN RESULT IN CONFIGURATIONS THAT COULD BE AMENABLE TO USED CAR RETROFIT. FOR NEW CARS, THE CHANGEOVER CAN BE ALLEVIATED BY OVERLAP WITH THE INITIAL MARKETING AND STYLING PHASE OF MANUFACTURING. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT ATTENDANT TO REAR LIGHTING CHANGEOVER IS ACCIDENT REDUCTION.

• Corporate Authors:

  Systems Consultants, Incorporated

  1050 31st Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20007
• Publication Date: 1969-1-30

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Computer programs; Data collection; Mathematical models; Motor vehicles; Prevention; Safety; Standards; Taillamps; Used vehicle industry; Vehicle lighting
• Uncontrolled Terms: Change
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223035
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: pp 42-47
• Files: TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Nov 24 1994 12:00AM