Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving
The purpose of this work is to determine as a function of velocity the minimal roadway luminance that is required to be judged as being bright enough for a driver to perform a nighttime driving task with an adequate feeling of safety. In this context, it shall also be evaluated which areas of the ve...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Vehicles |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8921/3/4/49 |
| _version_ | 1797500064268025856 |
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| author | Anil Erkan Sebastian Babilon David Hoffmann Timo Singer Tsoni Vitkov Tran Quoc Khanh |
| author_facet | Anil Erkan Sebastian Babilon David Hoffmann Timo Singer Tsoni Vitkov Tran Quoc Khanh |
| author_sort | Anil Erkan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The purpose of this work is to determine as a function of velocity the minimal roadway luminance that is required to be judged as being bright enough for a driver to perform a nighttime driving task with an adequate feeling of safety. In this context, it shall also be evaluated which areas of the vehicle forefield are most crucial for the driver’s general brightness perception. A field study with 23 subjects and dimmable LED headlights was conducted, in which the subjects were given the task to assess their perceived brightness for different luminance levels caused by the headlights’ low-beam distribution in the vehicle’s forefield on a 5-step rating scale. The experiments were repeated for three different driving velocities of 0 km h<sup>−1</sup> (static case), 30 km h<sup>−1</sup>, and 60 km h<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Results for the static case indicate that, for the roadway to be perceived as bright enough by 50% of the subjects, an average roadway luminance of 0.88 cd m<sup>−2</sup> is required in an area up to 32 m in front of the vehicle. Furthermore, a significant effect of driving speed is observed. For example, at 60 km h<sup>−1</sup>, the luminance must be increased to 1.54 cd m<sup>−2</sup> to be still perceived as sufficiently bright by 50% of the subjects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:56:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c621f33741574b8ab89895b412297e61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2624-8921 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:56:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vehicles |
| spelling | doaj.art-c621f33741574b8ab89895b412297e612023-11-23T10:55:31ZengMDPI AGVehicles2624-89212021-11-013482183910.3390/vehicles3040049Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime DrivingAnil Erkan0Sebastian Babilon1David Hoffmann2Timo Singer3Tsoni Vitkov4Tran Quoc Khanh5Laboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyLaboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyLaboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyLaboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyLaboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyLaboratory of Adaptive Lighting Systems and Visual Processing, Technical University of Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 4a, 64289 Darmstadt, GermanyThe purpose of this work is to determine as a function of velocity the minimal roadway luminance that is required to be judged as being bright enough for a driver to perform a nighttime driving task with an adequate feeling of safety. In this context, it shall also be evaluated which areas of the vehicle forefield are most crucial for the driver’s general brightness perception. A field study with 23 subjects and dimmable LED headlights was conducted, in which the subjects were given the task to assess their perceived brightness for different luminance levels caused by the headlights’ low-beam distribution in the vehicle’s forefield on a 5-step rating scale. The experiments were repeated for three different driving velocities of 0 km h<sup>−1</sup> (static case), 30 km h<sup>−1</sup>, and 60 km h<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. Results for the static case indicate that, for the roadway to be perceived as bright enough by 50% of the subjects, an average roadway luminance of 0.88 cd m<sup>−2</sup> is required in an area up to 32 m in front of the vehicle. Furthermore, a significant effect of driving speed is observed. For example, at 60 km h<sup>−1</sup>, the luminance must be increased to 1.54 cd m<sup>−2</sup> to be still perceived as sufficiently bright by 50% of the subjects.https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8921/3/4/49nighttime drivingroadway luminanceincreased feeling of safetybrightness perceptionadaptive headlightsautomotive lighting |
| spellingShingle | Anil Erkan Sebastian Babilon David Hoffmann Timo Singer Tsoni Vitkov Tran Quoc Khanh Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving Vehicles nighttime driving roadway luminance increased feeling of safety brightness perception adaptive headlights automotive lighting |
| title | Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving |
| title_full | Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving |
| title_fullStr | Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving |
| title_short | Determination of Speed-Dependent Roadway Luminance for an Adequate Feeling of Safety at Nighttime Driving |
| title_sort | determination of speed dependent roadway luminance for an adequate feeling of safety at nighttime driving |
| topic | nighttime driving roadway luminance increased feeling of safety brightness perception adaptive headlights automotive lighting |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2624-8921/3/4/49 |
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