Quantifying the Night Driver's Visual Environment

Details

• Creators:
  Olsen, R. A.
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Federal Highway Administration. Environmental Division
• Contributors:
  Schwab, Richard N.
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Night visibility
  • Night vision
  • Visual perception
  • Glare
  • Visibility
  • Lighting
  • Highway delineators
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-RD-80-096
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Research
• Abstract:
  The complexity of a driver's tasks in safely and efficiently utilizing the highway system is largely dependent upon the inputs presented to the visual senses. Visual complexity is determined by road geometry; maneuvering of other traffic; adjacent land uses; pedestrian activity; weather; traffic control devices, lighting, and maintenance of the road features; and many other factors. Darkness changes the visual environment by reducing many cues and by adding a few others. Some of these are added for the driver's benefit, some for other purposes, and some are uncontrolled or uncontrollable at least by highway agencies. In this review of selected literature and research approaches, the objective is to suggest promising next steps toward making decisions on design, selection, and provision of aids to drivers for night driving.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/67607/dot_67607_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.01 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:db23b834b5941b0d8402378e0fd7c9c6901b00f83d99270be9d00afe8f8fc2ad8b818a48ab5c0083ecacd373bc54366b23242da35b40e02ca87cebae280b21cd