THE IMMEDIATE EFFECTS OF GLARE AND ELECTROCHROMIC GLARE-REDUCING MIRRORS IN SIMULATED TRUCK DRIVING

Twelve experienced truck drivers drove a fixed-base driving simulator for three 8-hour sessions under simulated nighttime driving conditions. Sessions included no glare, intermittent glare presented in the exterior rearview mirrors to simulate following vehicles, and intermittent glare with electrochromic glare reduction. The driving task combined vehicle control on straight and curved road segments with detection of pedestrians appearing alongside the road and targets appearing in the rearview mirrors. The presence of glare slowed detection of pedestrians and, to a lesser extent, slowed the detection of targets appearing in mirrors. Glare was also associated with increased lane position variability, reduced speed on curves, and, most consistently, increased steering variability. Alerting participants to the imminent presence of targets eliminated most of the impairment attributable to glare for detection of targets in the rearview mirrors. This provides support for the conclusion that the locus of glare impairment in a target detection task is primarily attentional rather than visual. The study found only meager evidence that electrochromic glare reduction improved target detection performance and no evidence that glare reduction improved vehicle control, despite the fact that participants consistently voiced positive preferences for glare reduction.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1329271
• Corporate Authors:

  Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

  P.O. Box 1369
  Santa Monica, CA  United States  90406-1369
• Authors:
  • RANNEY, T A
  • Simmons, L A
  • Masalonis, A J
• Publication Date: 2000

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 337-347
• Serial:
  • Human Factors
  • Volume: 42
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Sage Publications, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0018-7208
  • EISSN: 1547-8181
  • Serial URL: http://hfs.sagepub.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attention; Detection and identification; Driving simulators; Glare; Highway curves; Loss of control; Night; Pedestrians; Rearview mirrors; Roadside; Running speed; Steering; Truck drivers; Truck driving; Visual perception
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00800630
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Oct 17 2000 12:00AM