THE ABILITY TO SEE A PEDESTRIAN AT NIGHT: THE EFFECTS OF CLOTHING, REFLECTORIZATION AND DRIVER INTOXICATION

AN EXPERIMENT WITH EIGHT MALE STUDENTS SHOWED THAT AT LOW LEVELS OF ILLUMINATION, AN INDIVIDUAL'S SENSITIVITY TO CONTRAST DECREASES AS HIS BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL INCREASES. ALL SUBJECTS EXHIBITED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN CONTRAST SENSITIVITY AT BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS GREATER THAN 0.04 PERCENT. IN A ROAD TEST STUDY, VISIBILITY DISTANCES WERE FOUND TO BE UNACCEPTABLY SHORT FOR DUMMY PEDESTRIANS COVERED WITH BLACK OR GREY FABRIC. DUMMIES COVERED WITH WHITE FABRIC WERE SAFELY VISIBLE FOR A DRIVER TRAVELLING UP TO A SPEED OF 50 MPH. HOWEVER, ONLY REFLECTORIZED DUMMIES WERE SAFELY VISIBLE ABOVE THAT SPEED. AT BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS GREATER THAN 0.04 PERCENT ALL FOUR OBJECTS EXHIBITED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE MEAN VISIBILITY DISTANCE FOR EACH OF THE SIMULATED PEDESTRIAN CONDITIONS.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 445, No 4, PP 246-258, 18 REF
• Authors:
  • Hazlett, R D
  • Allen, M J
• Publication Date: 1968-4

Media Info

• Serial:
  • Am J Optom & Archives Am Acad Optom

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Blood alcohol levels; Clothing; Color vision; Crash causes; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Dummies; Fatalities; Night vision; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Reflectorized materials; Traffic crashes; Vision
• Old TRIS Terms: Vision characteristics
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220675
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 24 1970 12:00AM