Improving motorcycle conspicuity through innovative headlight configurations.

Most motorcycle crashes involve another vehicle that violated the motorcycle's right-of-way at an intersection. Two kinds of perceptual failures of other road users are often the cause of such accidents: motorcycle-detection failures and motion-perception errors. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of different headlight configurations on motorcycle detectability when the motorcycle is in visual competition with cars. Three innovative headlight configurations were tested: (1) standard yellow (central yellow headlight), (2) vertical white (one white light on the motorcyclist's helmet and two white lights on the fork in addition to the central white headlight), and (3) vertical yellow (same configuration as (2) with yellow lights instead of white). These three headlight configurations were evaluated in comparison to the standard configuration (central white headlight) in three environments containing visual distractors formed by car lights: (1) daytime running lights (DRLs), (2) low beams, or (3) DRLs and low beams. Video clips of computer-generated traffic situations were displayed briefly (250ms) to 57 drivers. The results revealed a beneficial effect of standard yellow configuration and the vertical yellow configuration on motorcycle detectability. However, this effect was modulated by the car-DRL environment. Findings and practical recommendations are discussed with regard to possible applications for motorcycles.

[1]  Janan Al-Awar Smither,et al.  Motorcycle Conspicuity: Effects of Age and Daytime Running Lights , 2010, Hum. Factors.

[2]  K Maruyama,et al.  Study of FACE Design, Lighting System Design for Enhanced Detection Rate of Motorcycles , 2009 .

[3]  Thierry Pebayle,et al.  Deterioration of the useful visual field with ageing during simulated driving in traffic and its possible consequences for road safety , 2009 .

[4]  M Gould,et al.  Errors in judging the approach rate of motorcycles in nighttime conditions and the effect of an improved lighting configuration. , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[5]  P L Zador,et al.  Motorcycle headlight-use laws and fatal motorcycle crashes in the US, 1975-83. , 1985, American journal of public health.

[6]  E Forke,et al.  AUSWIRKUNGEN EINER ALLGEMEINEN TAGESLICHTPFLICHT AUF DIE SICHERHEIT MOTORISIERTER ZWEIRAEDER , 1994 .

[7]  Bernhard Schlag,et al.  Recognisability of different configurations of front lights on motorcycles. , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  F. L. Engel.  Visual conspicuity, directed attention and retinal locus. , 1971, Vision research.

[9]  David R. Thom,et al.  MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT CAUSE FACTORS AND IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTERMEASURES. VOLUME II: APPENDIX/SUPPLEMENTAL DATA , 1980 .

[10]  Michael G. Lenné,et al.  Increasing Motorcycle Conspicuity: Design and Assessment of Interventions to Enhance Rider Safety , 2015 .

[11]  Pnina Gershon,et al.  Attention and search conspicuity of motorcycles as a function of their visual context. , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[12]  K. Ball,et al.  Visual attention problems as a predictor of vehicle crashes in older drivers. , 1993, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[13]  M Gould,et al.  Judgments of approach speed for motorcycles across different lighting levels and the effect of an improved tri-headlight configuration. , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[14]  Viola Cavallo,et al.  Are car daytime running lights detrimental to motorcycle conspicuity? , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[15]  Andreas Muller.  Daytime headlight operation and motorcyclist fatalities , 1984 .

[16]  Yojiro Tsutsumi,et al.  Long lighting system for enhanced conspicuity of motorcycles , 2007 .

[17]  Viola Cavallo,et al.  Influence of front light configuration on the visual conspicuity of motorcycles. , 2014, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[18]  F. L. Engel.  Visual conspicuity, visual search and fixation tendencies of the eye , 1977, Vision Research.

[19]  Pierre Baldi,et al.  A principled approach to detecting surprising events in video , 2005, 2005 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR'05).

[20]  P Van Elslande,et al.  Typical human errors in traffic accidents involving powered two-wheelers , 2010 .

[21]  Konstantina Gkritza,et al.  A mixed logit analysis of two-vehicle crash severities involving a motorcycle. , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[22]  Roland Brémond,et al.  A high dynamic range rendering pipeline for interactive applications , 2010, The Visual Computer.

[23]  Deborah Hix,et al.  Graphical encoding for information visualization: using icon color, shape, and size to convey nominal and quantitative data , 1997 .

[24]  Pnina Gershon,et al.  Increasing motorcycles attention and search conspicuity by using Alternating-Blinking Lights System (ABLS). , 2013, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[25]  M. Connors,et al.  Conspicuity of target lights: The influence of color , 1975 .

[26]  Nguyen-Thong Dang,et al.  Improving car drivers' perception of motorcycle motion through innovative headlight configurations. , 2015, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[27]  Chih-Wei Pai,et al.  Motorcycle right-of-way accidents--a literature review. , 2011, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[28]  Michael G. Lenné,et al.  Summarised assessment of the results on motorcycle conspicuity , 2015 .

[29]  C. Papageorgiou,et al.  Object and pattern detection in video sequences , 1997 .

[30]  Michael Sivak,et al.  The Effect of Improvements in Motorcycle/Motorcyclist Conspicuity on Driver Behavior , 1981 .

[31]  R. E. Christ.  Review and Analysis of Color Coding Research for Visual Displays , 1975 .