The Accuracy of Drivers' Judgments of the Effects of Headlight Glare on Their Own Visual Acuity

Drivers' judgments of the magnitude of disability glare caused by high-beam headlights may not match actual declines in visual performance. This study investigated younger and older drivers' beliefs about their own visual performance in the presence of headlight glare. Eleven older drivers and seventeen younger drivers judged the distance at which they would just be able to recognize the orientation of a white Landolt C if it were present adjacent to the headlamps of a stationary opposing vehicle at night. The younger participants were generally accurate in their estimates of the recognition distance of the stimulus, while older participants significantly overestimated both their own acuity and the effect of glare on their vision. From this study, we see that older drivers' judgments about the disabling effects of oncoming headlights may be systematically inaccurate. These misperceptions about headlight glare may help explain why drivers tend to underuse high beams.

[1]  Stacy A. Balk,et al.  The (In)Accuracy of Estimations of Our Own Visual Acuity in the Presence of Glare , 2011 .

[2]  James R. Sayer,et al.  Real-World Frequency of Use of Automotive Lighting Equipment , 2008 .

[3]  M Sivak,et al.  Comparison of Headlamp Visibility Distance and Stopping Distance , 1983, Perceptual and motor skills.

[4]  M Perel,et al.  DRIVERS' PERCEPTIONS OF HEADLIGHT GLARE FROM ONCOMING AND FOLLOWING VEHICLES , 2003 .

[5]  Richard A. Tyrrell,et al.  Limitations in Drivers' Ability to Recognize Pedestrians at Night , 2005, Hum. Factors.

[6]  R A Tyrrell,et al.  The assured clear distance ahead rule: implications for nighttime traffic safety and the law. , 1998, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[7]  Michael Perel,et al.  Relation Between Glare and Driving Performance , 2002, Hum. Factors.

[8]  David Shinar.  Actual versus estimated night-time pedestrian visibility , 1984 .

[9]  Talissa A. Frank,et al.  The Effects of Severe Visual Challenges on Steering Performance in Visually Healthy Young Drivers , 2005, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[10]  Michael J. Flannagan,et al.  High-beam headlamp usage on unlighted rural roadways , 2004 .

[11]  Johnell O. Brooks,et al.  Educational Interventions Successfully Reduce Pedestrians' Overestimates of Their Own Nighttime Visibility , 2004, Hum. Factors.

[12]  M. Flannagan,et al.  The role of ambient light level in fatal crashes: inferences from daylight saving time transitions. , 2002, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[13]  D. A. Owens,et al.  Effects of luminance, blur, and age on nighttime visual guidance: A test of the selective degradation hypothesis , 1999 .

[14]  R. Sekuler,et al.  The effects of aging on motion detection and direction identification , 2007, Vision Research.

[15]  Johnell O. Brooks,et al.  Comparing Estimated and Actual Visual Acuity at High and Low Luminance , 2006 .

[16]  Michael Sivak,et al.  Effects of overall low-beam intensity on seeing distance in the presence of glare , 2000 .

[17]  Joanne M Wood,et al.  On-road measures of pedestrians' estimates of their own nighttime conspicuity. , 2004, Journal of safety research.

[18]  H W Leibowitz,et al.  Nighttime driving accidents and selective visual degradation. , 1977, Science.

[19]  Johnell O Brooks,et al.  Highlighting Human Form and Motion Information Enhances the Conspicuity of Pedestrians at Night , 2008, Perception.

[20]  R. Sekuler,et al.  Contrast sensitivity throughout adulthood , 1982, Vision Research.

[21]  Michael J. Flannagan,et al.  REAL-WORLD USE OF HIGH-BEAM HEADLAMPS , 2006 .

[22]  D Shinar,et al.  Visual Requirements for Safety and Mobility of Older Drivers , 1991, Human factors.

[23]  Michael Sivak,et al.  Differentiation of Visibility and Alcohol as Contributors to Twilight Road Fatalities , 1996, Hum. Factors.

[24]  D. Alfred Owens,et al.  Biological Motion and Nighttime Pedestrian Conspicuity , 1994 .