Abstract
The anti-glare facilities in median strips are designed to block opposing headlights in order to avoid disability glare, but a large amount of headlight leakage results in uncomfortable glare, to the point that drivers can barely detect dangerous obstacles or road conditions. This paper aims to explore the glare range under high-beam headlights on drivers’ visual requirements. Based on an analysis of the mechanism of headlight glare, this paper proposes a subjective headlight glare scale, and classifies glare discomfort into two categories: interference glare, and acceptability glare. Combining the scales, 24 drivers and a standard light-emitting diode automotive headlamp were used to conduct glare effect tests. The size of the laboratory that closes to scotopic vision is 12 m × 6 m. The illuminance thresholds of disability glare–interference glare (DGIG) and interference glare–acceptability glare (IGAG), along with the spatial distribution of each glare level, were collected at the longitudinal distances of 3 m, 5 m, 7 m, 10 m, and 12 m. Meanwhile, the illuminance threshold and the spatial distribution of each glare level up to a longitudinal distance of 120 m were calculated. The results indicate that disability glare is distributed in the central area, while interference glare and acceptability glare are distributed from the center to the margins. At the same longitudinal distance, the vertical illuminance of the driver’s eye under the same glare level is almost equal. In the range of a longitudinal distance of 120 m, the spatial distribution of each glare level enlarges with each increase in longitudinal distance. The results can provide scientific evidence for calculating the reasonable heights of anti-glare facilities for expressways with different alignments.
Highlights
Published: 27 February 2022Glare is the condition of vision in which there is discomfort or a reduction in the ability to see details or objects, caused by an unsuitable distribution or range of luminance, or by extreme luminance contrasts [1]
For the particular characteristics of the driver, we propose the concept of traffic glare, which refers to the glare that results in the driver being unable to recognize the road information ahead and the surrounding environment during a given driving task because of visual discomfort or reduced visual ability
(5): When the longitudinal distance is constant, the illuminance at the eye of the tested drivers is related to the lateral distance and vertical distance, and has a one-to-one cor 2 y2 respondence with the vertical distance. xTherefore, the determination of the values of i + i =1
Summary
Published: 27 February 2022Glare is the condition of vision in which there is discomfort or a reduction in the ability to see details or objects, caused by an unsuitable distribution or range of luminance, or by extreme luminance contrasts [1]. Glare from high-beam headlights is an adverse factor that affects the acquisition of visual information for oncoming drivers at night. Some studies [2–6] have shown that glare caused by oncoming vehicles can reduce the visual ability, judgment, and response ability of pedestrians and drivers. Half of the fatal accidents on U.S roads occur at night, and the number of traffic accidents caused by glare from the high-beam headlights of oncoming traffic at night accounts for. The installation of anti-glare facilities in the highway median strip is one of the most effective ways to block the glare from oncoming vehicles. Fernandes [8] and Hammond et al [9] considered installing anti-glare facilities, which is one of the essential methods to solve the problem of high-beam headlight glare on highways, and can effectively improve the highway driving environment at night
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