HEADLAMP INTENSITIES IN EUROPE AND BRITAIN

A SURVEY OF HEADLIGHT INTENSITIES HAS BEEN MADE IN BRITAIN AND FOUR EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. MEETING BEAM CAUSING GLARE AND GIVING NEAR-SIDE ILLUMINATION WERE RECORDED. AVERAGED INTENSITIES IN THE GLARE DIRECTION IN FRANCE BEING HIGHER THAN THE CONTINENTAL AVERAGE AND MORE DIVERSE. COMPARISON WITH AN EARLIER SURVEY SUGGESTS LITTLE CHANGE IN THE GLARE SITUATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM IN THE PAST EIGHT YEARS. BRITISH VALUES WERE CLOSER THAN THE CONTINENTAL TO THE RELEVANT BEAM SPECIFICATION. ILLUMINATING INTENSITIES AROUND 4000 CD WERE RECORDED AT ALL FOUR BRITISH SITES AND THE SINGLE FRENCH SITE, ALMOST DOUBLE THE REMAINING EUROPEAN FIGURES. THERE WAS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN ILLUMINATION AND SPEED. A DRIVER'S ABILITY TO SEE DURING A MEETING SITUATION DEPENDS ON BOTH GLARE AND ILLUMINATION. TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE ILLUMINATION VALUES SUGGEST THAT THE BRITISH DRIVERS WOULD HAVE SEEN A STANDARD TARGET 60 M AWAY AT THE ROADSIDE IN 44 PERCENT OF MEETING SITUATIONS ON A TWO-WAY, SINGLE CARRIAGEWAY ROAD, COMPARED WITH 56 PERCENT FOR THE FRENCH DRIVERS, AND 21 PERCENT FOR THE BELGIAN. LOW ILLUMINATION WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS LAST LOW FIGURE, NOT EXCESSIVE GLARE. /RRL(A)/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Rrl Report LR 383, 37 PP, 22 FIG, 3 TAB, 3 PHOT, 9 REF
• Corporate Authors:

  Road Research Laboratory /UK

  ,    
• Authors:
  • YERRELL, J S
• Publication Date: 1971

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Drivers; Glare; Headlamps; Light; Speed; Vision
• Uncontrolled Terms: Intensity
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver vision
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220207
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Road Research Laboratory /UK
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 1 1971 12:00AM