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Understanding when an object enters into the headlamp projection from a vehicle is useful to assist the driver in detecting the object in dark or nighttime conditions. Understanding the specific illumination pattern of a vehicle headlamp beam is useful for the evaluation of nighttime visibility issues in accident reconstruction. Determining when an object entered in the headlamp beam at a specific illuminance may be of particular importance to driver avoidance capabilities. Headlamp illumination patterns may be unique to each vehicle make and model. In this study, the headlamp illumination patterns of multiple vehicles were mapped, and the measured illumination distances were compared with empirical predications. In general, individual headlamp illumination distances fell within the range of minimum and maximum empirical predictions.

Understanding the specific illumination pattern of a vehicle headlamp beam is useful for the evaluation of nighttime visibility issues in accident reconstruction. There are several challenges associated with traditional headlamp mapping techniques, including that mapping must be conducted in darkness, the mapping location topography may not be level or flat, maintaining a measurement grid is difficult to accomplish in the field, data acquisition requires multiple individuals, and it is generally very time consuming. Traditional techniques require the surrounding surface to be permanently marked in the evening in order to allow for future data collection of the mapped points in daylight conditions. The methodology presented here alleviates some of these challenges through real-time data collection and by accounting for topographical differences, which eliminates the requirement that mapping be conducted on a level or flat surface, and it reduces the number of required participants.

A and B stiffness coefficients to model the frontal stiffness of vehicles is a commonly used and accepted technique within the field of collision reconstruction. Methods for calculating stiffness coefficients rely upon examining the residual crush of a vehicle involved in a crash test. When vehicles are involved in a collision, portions of the crushed vehicle structures rebound from their maximum dynamic crush position. Once the vehicle structures have finished rebounding, the remaining damage is called the residual crush. A problem can arise when the plastic bumper cover rebounds more than the vehicle's structural components, resulting in an air gap between the structural components and the plastic bumper cover. Most modern New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) tests quantify crush in the test reports based on the deformed location of the plastic bumper cover and not the structural components behind the plastic bumper cover. This results in an underreporting of the actual residual crush.