Night‐time pedestrian conspicuity: effects of clothing on drivers’ eye movements

Wood, Joanne M.; Tyrrell, Richard A.; Lacherez, Philippe F.; Black, Alex A.

doi:10.1111/opo.12351

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Building on this early work, researchers conducted studies on real roads, in order to better capture the visual characteristics of the nighttime road environment, and also found conspicuity advantages of retroreflective markers positioned in the biomotion configuration . In one closed road study, pedestrians walked in place on a closed road circuit wearing black or white clothing, black clothing with a retroreflective vest, or black clothing with retroreflective strips in the biomotion configuration .…”

Section: Visibility Of Vulnerable Road Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regardless of whether the pedestrian was walking or not, conspicuity significantly increased when retroreflective markings were located on the extremities, with the effects of biomotion being greatest when the pedestrians were walking in place. Closed road studies have also demonstrated that biomotion clothing enables recognition of the walking direction of pedestrians, which guides judgment of whether a pedestrian is likely to be entering or exiting the roadway . Evaluation of drivers' eye movements while undertaking these closed road studies has also provided some insight regarding the benefits of biomotion clothing for nighttime conspicuity.…”

Section: Visibility Of Vulnerable Road Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Wood

2019

Ophthalmic Physiologic Optic

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Purpose Nighttime driving is dangerous and is one of the most challenging driving situations for most drivers. Fatality rates are higher at night than in the day when adjusted for distances travelled, particularly for crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists. Although there are multiple contributory factors, the low light levels at night are believed to be the major cause of collisions with pedestrians and cyclists at night, most likely due to their reduced visibility. Understanding the visibility problems involved in nighttime driving is thus critical, given the increased risk to road safety. Recent Findings This review discusses research that highlights key differences in the nighttime road environment compared to the day and how this affects visual function and driving performance, together with an overview of studies investigating how driver age and visual status affect nighttime driving performance. Research that has focused on the visibility of vulnerable road users at nighttime (pedestrians and cyclists) is also included. Summary Collectively, the research evidence suggests that visual function is reduced under the mesopic lighting conditions of night driving and that these effects are exacerbated by increasing age and visual impairment. Light and glare from road lighting and headlights have significant impacts on vision and night driving and these effects are likely to change with evolving technologies, such as LED streetlighting and headlights. Research also highlights the importance of the visibility of vulnerable road users at night and the role of retroreflective clothing in the ‘biomotion’ configuration for improving their conspicuity and hence safety.

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Section: Visibility Of Vulnerable Road Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Visibility Of Vulnerable Road Usersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Wood

2019

Ophthalmic Physiologic Optic

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“…We used a qualitative approach to explore responses of cyclists and runners towards the design of novel exercise garments which incorporate reflective strips in a biomotion configuration, known to provide the highest level of conspicuity for approaching drivers at night-time (Stapleton & Koo, 2017;Wood et al, 2005Wood et al, , 2012Wood, Marszalek, Lacherez, & Tyrrell, 2014;Wood, Tyrrell, Lacherez, & Black, 2017). Three themes were identified: Design, Function and Promotion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing cycling and running garments to increase conspicuity

Fylan

Bentley

Brough

et al. 2021

International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Educati

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Poor conspicuity increases the risk of cyclists and pedestrians being involved in collisions with vehicles under low light conditions. Retroreflective strips in biomotion configuration significantly increases conspicuity. This study explored how to design biomotion garments that will appeal to cyclists and pedestrians. Nine focus groups involving 50 participants who ran/ cycled under low light conditions. Participants discussed their experiences of choosing and wearing garments for cycling/running, and barriers to wearing biomotion garments. Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes. Design describes how biomotion garments should be attractive and practical. Function describes how they should be comfortable and convenient. Promotion describes participant's beliefs regarding cost and how to best explain the safety benefits of biomotion garments. Our user-centre research identified how to make biomotion garments appealing. Safety should not compromise design and function: users are unlikely to wear poorly designed and uncomfortable biomotion garments regardless of how much they increase conspicuity.

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“…A related issue is whether the effect of blur on the recognition of pedestrians and the direction of motion depends on pedestrian clothing. One study revealed that the judgement of pedestrian walking direction was highest when pedestrians were wearing biomotion clothing 22 . However, these studies were performed when drivers were wearing their optimal refractive correction or habitual correction for driving, which raises the question as to whether inducing refractive blur beyond the driver’s best corrected refraction affects the night‐time conspicuity of pedestrians and accurate judgement of their walking direction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The purpose of the present study was therefore to determine the effects of refractive blur on judging the walking direction of pedestrians and to explore the extent to which different types of clothing, which incorporate different configurations of retro‐reflective markings, are impacted by blur. We hypothesised that increasing levels of blur would have a detrimental effect on the judgement of night‐time pedestrian walking direction, 20 and that the assessment of walking direction would be most accurate when pedestrians were wearing biomotion clothing, based on previous findings 22 . These research questions are important in terms of providing practical evidence‐based guidelines for practitioners who prescribe optical corrections for driving, and for informing the community and those who work or exercise on night‐time roads to optimise their safety.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refractive blur affects judgement of pedestrian walking direction at night

Wood

Chiu

Kim

et al. 2021

Ophthalmic Physiologic Optic

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Purpose Many individuals drive with uncorrected refractive errors, which has implications for night driving, where poor visibility contributes to the increased crash risk relative to daytime. This study explored how small amounts of refractive blur affects the judgment of the walking direction of night‐time pedestrians and whether different types of retro‐reflective clothing influence this effect. Methods Judgement of the walking direction of night‐time pedestrians was investigated for 20 young participants with normal vision (mean age, 21.8 ± 1.6 years) for two levels of binocular blur (+0.50DS, +1.00DS) compared to baseline (best‐corrected refractive correction). Participants seated in a stationary car with low beam headlamps observed a pedestrian wearing three clothing conditions: retro‐reflective vest (1) and retro‐reflective biomotion clothing (incorporating thin (2) or thick (3) retro‐reflective strips), who walked across the road in three directions (straight across, away or towards the car). The order of conditions was randomised among participants. Participants reported the perceived pedestrian walking direction and how confident they rated their response. Outcome measures included the proportion of correct responses (response accuracy) and confidence ratings. Results Blur had a significant effect on accuracy in judging pedestrian walking direction; accuracy decreased significantly with increasing blur (p < 0.001), with all blur levels being significantly different from one another. The effect of pedestrian clothing was also significant (p < 0.001); direction judgements were least accurate for vest, followed by both thin and thick biomotion, where accuracy judgements were similar. There was also a significant interaction between blur and clothing (p < 0.05). Similar trends were found for confidence ratings across the blur and clothing conditions. Greater confidence was significantly associated with increased response accuracy for the biomotion clothing, but not the vest. Conclusion Findings highlight that even small amounts of blur (+0.50DS), that do not reduce visual acuity below the legal driving limits, reduce the ability to accurately judge pedestrian walking direction at night. Retro‐reflective clothing in a biomotion configuration facilitated the highest accuracy and confidence in judgment of pedestrian walking direction, for both thin and thick strips compared to vest, for all blur levels.

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Night‐time pedestrian conspicuity: effects of clothing on drivers’ eye movements

Cited by 30 publications

References 32 publications

Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Designing cycling and running garments to increase conspicuity

Refractive blur affects judgement of pedestrian walking direction at night

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