MOTOR VEHICLE HEADLIGHT BEAM USAGE STUDY ON A SECTION OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 90 IN SOUTH DAKOTA

THIS REPORT EVOLVED FROM A LARGER STUDY TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF SHOULDER USE BY MOTOR VEHICLES. THE HEADLIGHT USAGE OF VEHICLES TRAVELING ON AN 18-MILE SECTION OF INTERSTATE HIGHWAY WITH A DEPRESSED GRASS MEDIAN OF NEARLY CONSTANT WIDTH /46 FEET/ WAS RECORDED BY TRAINED DRIVERS OPERATING A VEHICLE IN THE OUTSIDE LANE WHILE CONTINUOUSLY DRIVING A COMPLETE CIRCUIT OVER THE STUDY SECTION. THE PATROL VEHICLE WAS OPERATED WITH HIGH BEAMS UNTIL AN OPPOSING VEHICLE CAME INTO VIEW. THE PATROL DRIVER THEN CHANGED TO LOW BEAMS. OPPOSING VEHICLES WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR BEAM USAGE WHEN FIRST SIGHTED AND AGAIN AT THE MOMENT OF RELATIVE COINCIDENCE. CLASSIFICATION WAS ALSO MADE ACCORDING TO WEATHER CONDITIONS' CLEAR, CLOUDY, AND PRECIPITATION. OF ALL VEHICLES OBSERVED, 67% WERE ON LOW BEAM WHEN FIRST SIGHTED, BUT THIS INCREASED TO 78% ON LOW BEAM AT THE MOMENT OF RELATIVE COINCIDENCE. FIVE PERCENT FEWER VEHICLES WERE USING LOW BEAMS WHEN FIRST SIGHTED DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE STUDY PERIOD FROM MIDNIGHT TO 3'00 A.M. DATA GATHERED DURING ANY FORM OF PRECIPITATION SHOWED AN INCREASE IN THE USE OF LOW BEAMS. /BPR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 604, 4, 1964
• Corporate Authors:

  South Dakota Department of Transportation

  700 East Broadway Avenue
  Pierre, SD  United States  57501
• Publication Date: 1964

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Clouds; Data collection; Grasses; Headlamps; Low beamed headlamps; Medians; Motor vehicles; Recording; Studies; Test sections; Utilization; Vehicles; Weather
• Identifier Terms: Interstate Highway System
• Uncontrolled Terms: Patrol
• Old TRIS Terms: Clear; Cloudiness; Depressed; High beam; Low beam; Precipitation
• Subject Areas: Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219644
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bureau of Public Roads /US
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 1 1994 12:00AM