Citation

Rumar K, Sivak M, Traube EC, Miyokawa T. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2003; 14(2): 27-30.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper addresses the relative visibility of retroreflective pavement markings from trucks and cars. Both low-beam headlamp mounting height and observer eye height were varied in a nighttime field study. The task involved detecting the presence of a strip of retroreflective pavement marking that was moved towards a stationary observer. Results showed that headlamp mounting height had a statistically significant effect on detection distance. Increasing the mounting height from the lowest tested level (0.6 m) to the highest tested level (1.2 m) resulted in a 19% increase in detection distance. Findings showed no effect of eye height over the range tested (1.2 m to 2.4 m). These findings imply that retroreflective pavement markings are more visible and more effective for truck drivers than car drivers. Although these findings support higher headlamp mounting height for all vehicles, the higher heights will lead to more glare for both oncoming drivers and preceding drivers via rearview mirrors. Both visibility and glare considerations would have to be considered in determining an optimal headlamp mounting height.