Role of Expectancy, Motion and Overhead Lighting on Nighttime Visibility

Bhagavathula, Rajaram; Gibbons, Ronald B.

doi:10.1177/1541931213571438

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Regardless of the research setting, the issue of expectancy can be problematic for any study of drivers' abilities to recognise the presence of pedestrians. Drivers who expect to encounter a pedestrian in a given location are likely to respond from a longer distance than drivers who are surprised by the pedestrian's presence . Drivers who expect to encounter a pedestrian may have different visual scanning patterns prior to encountering a pedestrian and are likely to respond more quickly once a pedestrian is perceived.…”

Section: Experimental Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drivers who expect to encounter a pedestrian in a given location are likely to respond from a longer distance than drivers who are surprised by the pedestrian's presence. 77,88,89 Drivers who expect to encounter a pedestrian may have different visual scanning patterns prior to encountering a pedestrian and are likely to respond more quickly once a pedestrian is perceived. Indeed, most authors differentiate between 'conspicuity' and 'visibility', in that a pedestrian is said to be conspicuous when he or she is recognised as a pedestrian, even by a driver who had no advanced warning or special expectation of encountering a pedestrian in that particular location.…”

Section: Experimental Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The conspicuity of pedestrians at night: a review

Tyrrell

Wood

Owens

et al. 2016

Clinical and Experimental Optometry

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Drivers' visual limitations are a leading contributor to night-time traffic crashes involving pedestrians. This paper reviews the basic changes in vision that occur at night for young and old visually healthy drivers, as well as those with common ocular pathology. To maximise their safety at night, pedestrians should be conspicuous. That is, beyond being simply visible (detectable as an ambiguous object), they should attract the attention of drivers and be readily perceivable as pedestrians. Research has established that the conspicuity of pedestrians can be optimised by attaching retroreflective markings to the pedestrian's extremities. Doing so highlights the pedestrian's 'biological motion,' which facilitates the accurate perception of a person; however, retroreflective markings on the torso (for example, vests) are less effective. Importantly, behavioural evidence indicates that most road users -drivers and pedestrians alikeare not aware of the limitations of night vision. For example, drivers typically 'overdrive' the useful range of their headlight beams and under-use their high beam headlight setting. Further, pedestrians overestimate their own conspicuity at night and fail to appreciate the extent to which their own conspicuity depends on their clothing. The widespread misunderstanding of the challenges associated with night driving reflects a lack of awareness of the fundamental limitations of night vision. Educational interventions are needed to ameliorate these dangerous misunderstandings and to improve the safety of all road users at night.

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Section: Experimental Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimental Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The conspicuity of pedestrians at night: a review

Tyrrell

Wood

Owens

et al. 2016

Clinical and Experimental Optometry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Previous research on pedestrian conspicuity demonstrated an increase in detection distance with expectancy. 35 This may explain why conspicuity aids appear to be more effective in simulated settings where test observers were primed to expect the target. In real driving conditions, however, drivers develop a visual search strategy which focuses on frequent, major dangers but filters out infrequent objects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of conspicuity in preventing bicycle crashes involving a motor vehicle

Tin

Woodward

Ameratunga

2014

European Journal of Public Health

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Background: Bicycle use, despite its proven health and other benefits, is rarely part of everyday travel for many people due to the perceived risk of injury from collision crashes. This article investigated the role of physical vs. attention conspicuity in preventing bicycle crashes involving a motor vehicle in New Zealand. Methods: The Taupo Bicycle Study involved 2590 adult cyclists recruited in 2006 (43.1% response rate) and followed for bicycle crash outcomes through linkage to four national databases. A composite measure of physical conspicuity was created using latent class analysis based on the use of fluorescent colours, lights and reflective materials, and the main colour of top, helmet and bike frame. Attention conspicuity was assessed based on regional differences in travel patterns and the amount of riding in a bunch. Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed with multivariate adjustments. Results: During a median follow-up period of 6.4 years, 162 participants experienced 187 bicycle–motor vehicle crashes. The crash risk was not predicted by the four latent classes identified and the amount of bunch riding but was higher in Auckland, the region with the lowest level of bicycle use relative to car use. In subgroup analyses, compared to other latent classes, the most physically conspicuous group had a higher risk in Auckland but a lower risk in other regions. Conclusion: Conspicuity aids may not be effective in preventing bicycle–motor vehicle crashes in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, where attention conspicuity is low.

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“…Targets. Targets were used to evaluate roadway visibility (by measuring detection distance in the visual performance experiment); these were grey in color and 0.18 3 0.18 m in size, similar to ones used in earlier work (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Targets were located 0.3 m outside the right shoulder of the road.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Intersection Lighting Design on Drivers’ Perceived Visibility and Glare

Bhagavathula

Gibbons

Nussbaum

2019

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation R

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A systems-level approach to intersection lighting design has shown that illuminating the intersection box increases drivers’ nighttime visual performance. However, for an intersection lighting design to be effective and accepted, it should not only maximize visual performance but also enhance perceived visibility and minimize glare. The goals of this study were to assess the effects of different intersection lighting designs on these two outcomes. Visibility was assessed with respect to a pedestrian, several targets, and an intersection. Perceptions of visibility and glare were measured using Likert scales, with participants exposed to multiple lighting designs on a realistic intersection. Twenty-four participants completed the study, with an equal number of younger (18–35 years) and older (65+) drivers. The lighting design that illuminated the intersection box had the highest levels of perceived target and intersection visibility and the lowest ratings of glare. For the same lighting configuration, a strong positive correlation was also found between perceived target visibility and previous results on target detection distances. In this configuration, perceived visibility plateaued between 7 and 10 lux of mean intersection illuminance. Increased levels of perceived visibility in different conditions were likely a result of size and contrast differences, and the distribution of the luminaires used. These results suggest that illuminating the intersection box has multiple benefits, in that it not only increases visual performance but also increases perceived visibility and reduces glare.

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Role of Expectancy, Motion and Overhead Lighting on Nighttime Visibility

Cited by 11 publications

References 15 publications

The conspicuity of pedestrians at night: a review

The conspicuity of pedestrians at night: a review

The role of conspicuity in preventing bicycle crashes involving a motor vehicle

Effect of Intersection Lighting Design on Drivers’ Perceived Visibility and Glare

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