Citation

Reiss ML, Lunenfeld H. Transp. Res. Rec. 1976; 562: 93-105.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1976, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper summarizes the research performed during a study for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The blind area directly behind small trucks, multipurpose vehicles, large trucks, and buses was investigated to determine the rear-view information that a driver needs to reduce accident risk for various driving situations. Accident data, driver evaluation of risk and information needs, and vehicle use patterns obtained from riding with truck and bus drivers were used to determine that the blind area increases driving risk most for backing, turning (including making lane changes, mergin, and entering and exiting expressways), slowing, and stopping, in that order. Several state-of-the-art techniques have the potential to eliminate the blind area behind various vehicles. Based on a survey of manufacturer information and devices, a comparison was made of the alternative techniques by criteria such as potential effectiveness in the operational environment, cost maintainabilty, and availability. It was concluded that the use of an effective rear-vision system would be beneficial for several of the types of vehicles considered. The techniques that appear most promising are television systems, closing rate sensors (doppler radar), and proximity (acoustic) sensors. The primary recommendation was to perform selected tests and demonstrations of readily available existing systems on certain vehicles and under certain conditions to supplement the system analysis of the study with experimental data.