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Title:

Perceptions of Visibility and Conspicuity of Biomotion Clothing Configurations for Road Workers at Road Work Sites

Accession Number:

01151035

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Aims: This study determined whether the visibility benefits of positioning retroreflective strips in biological motion configurations were evident at real world road worker sites. Methods: 20 visually normal drivers (M=40.3 years) participated in this study that was conducted at two road work sites (one suburban and one freeway) on two separate nights. At each site, four road workers walked in place wearing one of four different clothing options: a) standard road worker night vest, b) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on thighs, c) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on ankles and knees, d) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on eight moveable joints (full biomotion). Participants seated in stationary vehicles at three different distances (80m, 160m, 240m) rated the relative conspicuity of the four road workers using a series of a standardized visibility and ranking scales. Results: Adding retroreflective strips in the full biomotion configuration to the standard night vest significantly (p<0.001) enhanced perceptions of road worker visibility compared to the standard vest alone, or in combination with thigh retroreflective markings. These visibility benefits were evident at all distances and at both sites. Retroreflective markings at the ankles and knees also provided visibility benefits compared to the standard vest, however, the full biomotion configuration was significantly better than all of the other configurations. Conclusions: These data provide the first evidence that the benefits of biomotion retroreflective markings that have been previously demonstrated under laboratory and closed- and open-road conditions are also evident at real work sites.

Monograph Accession #:

01147878

Report/Paper Numbers:

10-1797

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Wood, Joanne Mary
Marszalek, Ralph
Lacherez, Philippe
Tyrrell, Richard A
Chaparro, Alex

Pagination:

9p

Publication Date:

2010

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2010-1-10 to 2010-1-14
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

DVD

Features:

Figures (2) ; References (22)

Subject Areas:

Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-1797

Files:

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 25 2010 10:49AM