THE EFFECT OF VEHICLE LIGHTING ON PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT IN WELL LIGHTED STREETS

AN EXPERIMENT HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT TO FIND HOW THE TYPE OF LIGHTING SHOWN BY AN APPROACHING VEHICLE AFFECTS THE BEHAVIOR OF PEDESTRIANS CROSSING WELL-LIGHTED ROADS (AWAY FROM CROSSINGS) AT NIGHT. RESULTS WERE OBTAINED BY THE ANALYSIS OF CINE FILM TAKEN FROM A CAR USING EITHER SIDELIGHTS OR DIPPED HEADLIGHTS TRAVELLING AS NEAR AS POSSIBLE TO 32 KM/H (20 MILE/H) IN TWO-WAY STREETS IN CENTRAL LONDON. THE VEHICLE LIGHTING HAD NO SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON HOW FAR AHEAD OF THE CAR OR HOW QUICKLY PEDESTRIANS CROSSED THE ROAD, OR ON THE PROPORTION (ABOUT 80%) OF THOSE STEPPING INTO THE ROAD WHO ACTUALLY CROSSED IN FRONT OF THE CAR. WITH BOTH TYPES OF LIGHTING ABOUT 90% OF PEDESTRIANS IN THE ROAD WERE FIRST SEEN ON THE FILM AS DARK OBJECTS AGAINST A LIGHT BACKGROUND (I.E. IN SILHOUETTE). THE GAP ACCEPTED BY 50% OF PEDESTRIANS IN THE ROAD AND REJECTED BY 50% (I.E. THE THRESHOLD GAP) WAS FOUND TO BE 26 M (84 FT). THIS AGREED WITH THRESHOLD GAP/VEHICLE SPEED RELATIONSHIPS OBTAINED UNDER EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS ON THE LABORATORY TRACK. THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF ONCOMING VEHICLES AND PEDESTRIANS IN THE ROAD WERE RECORDED, AND IT WAS FOUND THAT 30% OF ALL PEDESTRIANS OBSERVED ON THE ROAD WERE FIRST SEEN NEAR TO THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF AN ONCOMING VEHICLE. /A/RRL/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Rrl Report LR 214, 14 PP, 4 FIG, 5 TAB, 2 PHOT, 5 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, LONDON (UK)

  ,    

  Road Research Laboratory /UK

  ,    
• Authors:
  • JACOBS, G D
• Publication Date: 1968

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Cinematography; Headlamps; Pedestrians; Vehicle lighting
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220165
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Road Research Laboratory /UK
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Apr 13 1970 12:00AM