ACCIDENT DYNAMICS RESEARCH CENTER

NIGHTTIME SIGHT DISTANCES

*- denotes that the number was estimated based upon other results given.

Therefore, the darker the pedestrian's clothing at night, the closer the driver will be before he perceives the pedestrian.

These numbers (in feet) were collected from observers who were in a moving vehicle with low beam Halogen headlights and were asked to look for pedestrians.  The pedestrians were stationary and were in unlit environments.  In the research by Muttart, two of 40 subjects exposed to the 3 retroreflective colors, failed to detect the pedestrian at all, while 10 of 39 subjects failed to detect the pedestrian with the yellow shirt.  The Muttart research was conducted in real traffic that was moderate to heavy early in the evening and lighter during later hours of the evening.  The research by Turner et al and Muttart involved responses in area where cones or traffic signs had been placed.   

Research involving stationary observers, observations in stark environments or observation distances derived from viewing video recorded scene have produced results that do not coincide with the results of Olson et al., Muttart, or Turner et al.

Of course, the distances may vary depending upon the environment (lighting, background, number of stimuli, anticipation, movement of the pedestrian, different stimulus-response situations, etc...).  Also, these distances do not account for the driver's cognitive and motor responses once the object is detected.

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