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Title:

Modest Visual Impairments and Headlamp Glare Reduce Pedestrian Visibility at Night

Accession Number:

01151040

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

Transportation Research Board Business Office

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Abstract:

Background: This study investigated the effects of experimentally induced visual impairment, headlamp glare and clothing on pedestrian visibility. Methods: 28 young adults (M=27.6±4.7 yrs) drove around a closed road circuit at night while pedestrians walked in place at the roadside. Pedestrians wore either black clothing, black clothing with a rectangular vest consisting of 1325 cm2 of retroreflective tape, or the same amount of tape positioned on the extremities in a configuration that conveyed biological motion (“biomotion”). Visual impairment was induced by goggles containing either blurring lenses, simulated cataracts, or clear lenses; visual acuity for the cataract and blurred lens conditions was matched. Drivers pressed a response pad when they first recognized that a pedestrian was present. Sixteen participants drove around the circuit in the presence of headlamp glare while twelve drove without glare. Results: Visual impairment, headlamp glare and pedestrian clothing all significantly affected drivers’ ability to recognize pedestrians (p<0.05). The simulated cataracts were more disruptive than blur, even though acuity was matched across the two manipulations. Pedestrians were recognized more often and at longer distances when they wore “biomotion” clothing than either the vest or black clothing, even in the presence of visual impairment and glare. Conclusions: Drivers’ ability to see and respond to pedestrians at night is degraded by modest visual impairments even when vision meets driver licensing requirements; glare further exacerbates these effects. Clothing that includes retroreflective tape in a biological motion configuration is relatively robust to visual impairment and glare.

Monograph Accession #:

01147878

Report/Paper Numbers:

10-1815

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Wood, Joanne Mary
Tyrrell, Richard A
Chaparro, Alex
Marszalek, Ralph
Carberry, Trent Patrick
Chu, Byoung Sun

Pagination:

10p

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 (34)

Subject Areas:

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

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-1815

Files:

BTRIS, TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

Jan 25 2010 10:50AM