THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF AUTOMOTIVE HEADLIGHT CHANGES ON THE VISIBILITY OF REFLECTORIZED HIGHWAY SIGNS
The performance of five types of sealed-beam and three types of European sharp-cutoff units was examined on a divided 4-lane rural roadway with a 1000-ft straight and level approach to a sign bridge containing three large overhead signs. All sealed-beam headlamps provided sufficient light to make non-illuminated, reflectorized overhead signs located in rural areas visible and legible. Sharp-cutoff headlamps, unless designed with optics to provide a small quantity of upward light, will render reflectorized, non-illuminated overhead signs almost invisible.
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Corporate Authors:
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
400 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA United States 15096 -
Authors:
- Arens, J B
- Publication Date: 1987-2
Media Info
- Pagination: 12 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Glare; Headlamps; Overhead traffic signs; Performance; Retroreflection; Rural areas; Vehicle lighting devices; Visibility
- Old TRIS Terms: Retrodirective reflection; Sealed beam headlights; Sharp cutoff headlights
- Subject Areas: Highways; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00476026
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Federal Highway Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: SAE No 870238
- Files: TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Sep 30 1988 12:00AM