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One of the primary reasons that FMVSS 111 currently requires flat rearview mirrors as original equipment on the driver's side of passenger cars is a concern that convex mirrors might reduce safety by causing drivers to overestimate the distances to following vehicles. Several previous studies of the effects of convex rearview mirrors have indicated that they do cause overestimations of distance, but of much lower magnitude than would be expected based on the mirrors' levels of image minification and the resulting visual angles experienced by drivers. Previous studies have investigated mirrors with radiuses of curvature up to 2000 mm. The present empirical study was designed to investigate the effects of mirrors with larger radiuses (up to 8900 mm). Such results are of interest because of the possible use of large radiuses in some aspheric mirror designs, and because of the information they provide about the basic mechanisms by which convex mirrors affect distance perception.

This study was designed to provide photometric information about current European low-beam headlamps. The sample included 20 low-beam headlamps manufactured for use on the 20 best-selling passenger vehicles for calendar year 1999 in 17 European countries. These 20 vehicles represent 47% of all vehicles sold in these countries. The lamps were purchased directly from vehicle dealerships, and photometered in 0.25° steps from 45° left to 45° right, and from 5° down to 7° up. The photometric information for each lamp was weighted by 1999 sales figures for the corresponding vehicle. The results are presented both in tabular form for the 25th-percentile, the median (50th-percentile), and the 75th-percentile luminous intensities, as well as in graphical form (for the median luminous intensities).

Conventional brake lights require 250 msec to reach 90% intensity, thereby causing potentially important delays of warning information to following drivers. Several improvements are possible, including the use of LED displays. LED's, however, are more expensive than conventional incandescent bulbs and require redesign of lamp housings. As an alternative, we have designed a simple and relatively inexpensive circuit that produces a faster warning signal using a conventional bulb. We have evaluated the benefits of this device in a laboratory study that measured subjects' reaction times to the onset of brake lights in a simulated car-following situation. Our data indicate that the benefit of the device is on the order of 115 msec. For a vehicle traveling at 65 miles per hour, that benefit translates to a decrease in stopping distance of 11 feet.

The effects of image size on perceived distance have been of concern for convex rearview mirrors as well as camera-based rear vision systems. We suggest that the importance of image size is limited to cases-such as current rearview mirrors-in which the field of view is small. With larger, richer fields of view it is likely that other distance cues will dominate image size, thereby substantially diminishing the concern that distortions of size will result in distortions of distance perception. We report results from an experiment performed in a driving simulator, with static simulated rearward images, in which subjects were asked to make judgments about the distance to a rearward vehicle. The images showed a field of view substantially wider than provided by any of the individual rearview mirrors in current systems. The field of view was 38 degrees wide and was presented on displays that were either 16.7 or 8.5 degrees wide, thus minifying images by factors of 0.44 or 0.22.

The importance of eye-to-display distance for distance perception in rear vision may depend on the type of display. At least in terms of its influence on the effective magnification of images, eye-to-display distance is almost irrelevant for flat rearview mirrors, but it is important for convex rearview mirrors and for other displays, such as video displays, that create images closer to the driver than the actual objects of interest. In the experiment we report here, we investigate the influence of eye-to-display distance on distance perception with both flat rearview mirrors and camera-based video displays. The results indicate that a simple model of distance perception based on the visual angles of images is not very successful. Visual angles may be important, but it appears that relationships between images of distant objects and the frames of the displays are also important. Further work is needed to fully understand how drivers might judge distance in camera-based displays.

This study examined perceptual adaptation to nonplanar (spherical convex and aspheric) rearview mirrors. Subjects made magnitude estimates of the distance to a car seen in a rearview mirror. Three different mirrors were used: plane, aspheric (with a large spherical section having a radius of 1400 mm), and simple convex (with a radius of 1000 mm). Previous research relevant to perceptual adaptation to nonplanar mirrors was reviewed. It was argued that, in spite of some cases of explicit interest in the process of learning to use nonplanar mirrors, previous research has not adequately addressed the possibility of perceptual adaptation. The present experiment involved three phases: (1) a pretest phase in which subjects made distance judgments but received no feedback, (2) a training phase in which they made judgments and did receive feedback, and (3) a posttest phase with the same procedure as the pretest phase.

Advances in camera and display technology have increased interest in using camera-based systems for all rear-vision functions. The flexibility of camera-based systems is unprecedented, and raises the possibility of providing drivers with fields of view that are very different from, and potentially much better than, those of conventional rearview mirrors. Current fields of view are based on a combination of driver needs and the practical constraints of mirror systems. In order to make the best use of the greater flexibility offered by cameras, a reassessment of drivers' needs for rear vision is needed. A full reassessment will require consideration of many factors. This paper offers a preliminary analysis of one of those factors: the visual workload involved in using rear-vision systems with single versus multiple displays.

High-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps have several advantages over tungsten-halogen headlamps, including greater light efficiency (lumens per watt) and longer life. However, from the safety point of view, the primary attraction of HID headlamps is that, because they produce more total light, they have the potential to provide more useful illumination to the driver. At the same time, there are concerns with the effects of HID illumination on perception of the colors of important objects and glare to oncoming traffic. This paper reviews research evidence that we have accumulated over the past 14 years concerning the potential benefits and drawbacks associated with the use of HID headlighting. We conclude that the evidence strongly supports the use of well-designed HID headlamps.

The U.S. currently requires that reai-view mirrors installed as original equipment in the center and driver-side positions be flat. There has recently been interest in using nonplanar mirrors in those positions, including possibly mirrors with large radii (over 2 m). This has provided additional motivation to understand the effects of mirror curvature on drivers' perceptions of distance and speed. This paper addresses this issue by (1) reviewing the concepts from perceptual theory that are most relevant to predicting and understanding how drivers judge distance in nonplanar rearview mirrors, and (2) reviewing the past empirical studies that have manipulated mirror curvature and measured some aspect of distance perception. The effects of mirror curvature on cues for distance perception do not lead to simple predictions. The most obvious model is one based on visual angle, according to which convex mirrors should generally lead to overestimation of distances.

The goal of this study was to provide information about the frequency of installation and use of fog lamps. Two surveys were performed. In the first one, installation of fog lamps was estimated by a survey of parked vehicles in two iarge shopping centers. The second survey studied the usage of fog lamps during daytime and nighttime, under clear, rainy, or foggy conditions. In this survey, an observer in a moving vehicle noted the types of lamps that were energized on the fronts of oncoming vehicles, and whether fog lamps were installed at all. The main findings are: (1) The best estimate of the current frequency of installation of fog lamps in southeast Michigan is about 13%. (2) During daytime, the usage of fog lamps increased with deterioration in atmospheric conditions, with the usage reaching 50% of all installed fog lamps during moderate-to-heavy fog.

The increasing availability of camera-based displays for indirect vision in vehicles is providing new opportunities to supplement drivers' direct views of the roadway and surrounding traffic, and is also raising new issues about how drivers perceive the positions and movements of surrounding vehicles. We recently reported evidence that drivers' perception of the distance to rearward vehicles seen in camera-based displays is affected not only by the visual angles subtended by the images of those vehicles, but also by the sizes of those images relative to the sizes of the displays within which they are seen (an influence that we have referred to as a framing effect). There was also evidence for a similar, but weaker, effect with rearview mirrors.

This paper describes several studies of headlighting and glare effects. It starts with a seeing-distance study, the results of which show that low-beam headlighting systems do not provide adequate illumination to reliably reveal low-contrast objects at any but relatively low speeds. The major barrier to increasing headlamp output is concern over glare effects. This paper describes two studies of glare. The results suggest that judgments of glare discomfort are influenced by the range of glare stimuli to which subjects are exposed, and that people are more tolerant of glare than previous laboratory studies indicate. A reanalysis of some field glare and illumination measurements is also offered. This points out the difficulties in controlling glare under real-world operating conditions. Recommendations are offered for a program that would move toward eventual achievement by an optimum low-beam lighting system.

This study was designed to provide photometric information about current U.S. and European high- and low-beam headlamps. The sample included 20 headlamps manufactured for use on the 20 best-selling passenger vehicles for model year 2000 in the U.S., and 20 headlamps manufactured for use on the 20 best-selling passenger vehicles for model year 2000 in Europe. The vehicles sampled represent 49% and 47%, respectively, of all vehicles sold in the U.S. and in Europe. The lamps were purchased directly from vehicle dealerships. The photometric information for each lamp was weighted by the sales figures for the corresponding vehicle. The results are presented both in tabular form for the 25th-percentile, the median (50th-percentile), and the 75th-percentile luminous intensities, as well as in graphical form (for the median luminous intensities), both for high- and low-beam headlamps (from 45° left to 45° right, and from 5° down to 7° up).

This study was designed to provide information concerning (a) the desirability of international harmonization of vehicle standards, and (b) the international transferability of field-study findings on vehicle lighting. Toward these goals, data were collected on a variety of factors related to drivers, traffic participants, roadways, and environment in eight major car-producing countries: U.S.A., Japan, West Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Canada, and United Kingdom. The international variability of these factors was contrasted with the corresponding variability among the U.S. states. The findings suggest that, for the examined factors, the within-U.S. variability is generally at least as large as the variability for the eight studied countries. Consequently, it is concluded that the obtained evidence supports (a) the establishment of common lighting specifications, and (b) the international transferability of findings from field studies on vehicle lighting.

This paper surveys the literature on motor vehicle headlighting and its influence on the ability of drivers to avoid accidents. The review identifies the key relationships between headlamp design characteristics and driver and environmental factors. The major safety problems associated with headlighting are discussed, and issues needing the attention of the research community are identified.

This paper addresses the relationship between vehicle rear lighting and signaling systems and probability of accident involvement. All classes of vehicles and all aspects of rear lighting and signaling systems as specified in current standards are considered in terms of the informational needs of following drivers. Relevant vehicle, driver, and environmental characteristics are identified, and their frequency of occurrence and relationship to accidents (or pertinent proxies) discussed whenever such information is available. The bulk of the report is devoted to reviewing, summarizing, and integrating the large body of data concerning vehicle rear lighting and signaling systems, including engineering analyses and other analytical studies, as well as experimental data from laboratory, simulation and field studies.

This study was part of a series of studies on variable-reflectance rearview mirrors. Previous work included laboratory studies of human visual performance, field collection of photometric data, and mathematical modeling of the visual benefits of variable-reflectance mirrors. We extended that work in this study by collecting photometric and human-performance data while subjects drove in actual traffic. Three mirror conditions were investigated: (1) fixed-reflectance mirrors in the center and driver-side positions, (2) a variable-reflectance mirror in the center with a fixed-reflectance mirror on the driver side, and (3) variable-reflectance mirrors in both positions. The fixed and variable reflectivities were produced by the same mirrors by overriding the circuitry that normally controlled reflectance in the variable mode.

We collected photometric data, concerning the simultaneous levels of rearview mirror glare and luminance of the forward scene, in order to characterize the night driving environment for rearview mirrors. An instrumented vehicle was used to collect photometric data for each combination of three road types (urban, expressway, and rural) with two pavement conditions (dry and wet). We then used these data to quantify the benefits of variable-reflectance rearview mirrors relative to (1) fixed-reflectance mirrors, and (2) two-level prism mirrors. The performance of the various types of mirrors was quantified in terms of a figure of merit. The figure of merit is simply the percentage of the time that all of three mirror-performance measures are met: (1) discomfort glare, (2) forward visibility, and (3) rearward visibility.

In a static field study we tested drivers’ abilities to detect vehicles in the periphery of their direct fields of view while they gazed toward the driver-side exterior rearview mirror of a passenger car. The results indicate that both younger and older drivers can detect vehicles with reasonable efficiency even in far peripheral vision. However, the results also indicate that using peripheral vision entails a cost in terms of lengthened reaction time. Although that cost seems modest in comparison with the normal durations of glances to rearview mirrors and of direct looks to the rear, it is not clear from this study alone how the reaction time cost might influence the scanning strategies that drivers actually use in driving. The present study was oriented more to testing drivers’ basic visual capabilities than to outlining their overall strategies.

Body-color brake lamps are lamps that in their off state match the body color of the car. When energized, all body-color lamps, as well as conventional lamps, appear bright red. The speed of response to a body-color brake lamp may differ from the speed of response to a conventional lamp for two reasons. The first is that the difference between off-and on-state luminances varies primarily with off-state luminance. When the difference is larger than for the conventional lamp, the increased luminance contrast may speed reaction time. The other reason that responses for the two types of lamps may differ is the greater chromaticity contrast that body-color lamps have between their on and off states. This study separately evaluated the effects of luminance contrast and chromaticity contrast for body-color brake lamps.