LIGHTING RESEARCH AT THE U. K. TRANSPORT AND ROAD RESEARCH LABORATORY

At the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, lighting research is concerned with both vehicle and roadway lighting. Work is under way to establish the relationship between road light levels and accidents. The research involves extensive measurements of light levels and detailed recording of accident data. These will be supplemented by the findings of studies of near accidents (conflicts) recorded at specific sites, which should indicate the effectiveness of both conventional and experimental lighting schemes. Nighttime driving is particularly difficult on wet roads, and therefore a photometric evaluation of all types of surfaces both wet and dry is being undertaken to provide physical measurements relating to the problem. Vehicle lighting research is mainly concerned with the investigation of headlight glare-reducing techniques. These include the possible use of dimmed headlight beams as presence indicators in lighted areas, median glare screens, and special low-glare head lamps. A study of the merits of the low-beam head lamp patterns developed in Europe and in the United Kingdom and the United States revealed little overall advantage for either, but showed that there was a considerable problem resulting from head lamp misaim due to vehicle loading. This problem is being tackled by the development of head lamp self-leveling systems.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr156/156-008.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0360859X
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at a symposium conducted by TRB, September 4-6, 1974 at Ohio State University, and sponsored by TRB, Illuminating Engineering Research Institute, Ohio University and Ohio Department of Transportation. This document record is a paper within HS-017 795 which is T 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
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board (TRB)

  Washington, DC   
• Authors:
  • Irving, Alexander
  • Yerrell, J Stuart
• Conference:
  • Symposium on Driver Visual Needs in Night Driving
  • Location: Columbus Ohio, United States
  • Date: 1974-9-4 to 1974-9-6
• Publication Date: 1975

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 90-100
• Monograph Title: Driver visual needs in night driving: proceedings of a symposium conducted by the Transportation Research Board, September 4-6, 1974
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 156
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0360-859X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Breakaway supports; Crash rates; Glare; Headlamps; Leveling; Luminaires; Moisture content; Night; Pavements; Photometry; Reflectorized materials; Safety equipment; Street lighting; Surface course (Pavements); Texture; Traffic conflicts
• Uncontrolled Terms: Wet conditions
• Old TRIS Terms: Aim; Reflectorization
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00129400
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-017 803
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Apr 21 1989 12:00AM