METHODS OF MEASURING JUDGMENT AND PERCEPTION TIME IN PASSING ON THE HIGHWAY
IN DETERMINING THE MINIMUM SIGHT DISTANCE WHICH ALLOWS SAFE PASSING, IT IS NECESSARY TO KNOW THE INTERVAL NEEDED BY THE DRIVER TO DECIDE WHETHER IT IS SAFE TO ATTEMPT A PASS. THIS INTERVAL MUST BE ADDED TO THE ACTUAL PASSING DISTANCE OR TIME USED IN CALCULATING THE MINIMUM TANGENT OR STRAIGHT STRETCH NECESSITATED. DESIGN ENGINEERS HAVE RECOGNIZED THIS JUDGMENT AND PERCEPTION TIME INTERVAL AND VARIOUS ESTIMATES AS TO ITS MAGNITUDE HAVE BEEN MADE. TWO METHODS OF MEASURING THIS INTERVAL ARE DESCRIBED. THE FIRST, WHICH EMPLOYS MOVIES FROM DIRECTLY ABOVE THE TEST LOCATION, IS CAPABLE OF GREATER ACCURACY. THE SECOND METHOD, WHICH CONSISTS OF TIMING BY AN OBSERVER WITH A STOP WATCH, IS ROUGHER BUT EASY AND ECONOMICAL. THE OBSERVER JUDGES THE PHYSICAL LAYOUT TO DETERMINE THE BEGINNING OF THE SIGHT DISTANCE, AND THE DRIVER REGISTERS HIS DECISION BY STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATOR. A SERIES OF RESULTS ARE GIVEN FOR THIS ROUGH CHECK METHOD. THE RESULTS SHOWED TWO JUDGMENT AND PERCEPTION TIME FIGURES. BOTH WERE SELECTED TO INCLUDE 80 PER CENT OF THE CASES. THE FIRST WAS 3.5 SECONDS AND THE SECOND WAS 2.8 SECONDS. THE FORMER IS MORE APPLICABLE TO A TANGENT BETWEEN CURVES AND THE LATTER MAY APPLY TO OTHER PROBLEMS SUCH AS THOSE RELATING TO INTERSECTIONS. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 19, pp 218-231, FIGS, 3 TAB. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Forbes, T W
- Greenshields, B D
- Publication Date: 1940
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. December 5-8, 1939
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 19
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Judgment (Human characteristics); Motor vehicles; Passing; Passing sight distance; Perception
- Uncontrolled Terms: Perception time
- Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00223483
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Oct 3 1971 12:00AM