Are car daytime running lights detrimental to motorcycle conspicuity?

• Published in: Accident analysis and prevention Vol. 49; no. 49; pp. 78 - 85
• Main Authors: Cavallo, Viola, Pinto, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Accident Prevention - methods; Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control; Accidents, Traffic - psychology; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Attention; Attentional conspicuity; Automobile Driving - psychology; Bicycling; Conspicuity; Daytime; Daytime running lights (DRLs); Engineering Sciences; Female; Humans; Lighting - adverse effects; Male; Middle Aged; Motorcycle safety; Motorcycles; Other; Pedestrians; Perception; Photography; Roads; Running; Sensorial conspicuity; Time Factors; Visual Perception; Vulnerable road users; Walking; Motorcycle safety; Attentional conspicuity; Sensorial conspicuity; Vulnerable road users; Daytime running lights (DRLs); PERCEPTION SENSORIELLE; ATTENTION; FEUX DU VEHICULE; SECURITE; USAGER DE LA ROUTE; DEUX ROUES MOTORISE; VULNERABILITE
• ISSN: 0001-4575; 1879-2057
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2011.09.013

► Car daytime running lights have a detrimental effect on motorcycle conspicuity. ► Car daytime running lights also hamper the perception of cyclists and pedestrians. ► Motorcyclists were detected better than pedestrians, who were detected better than cyclists. ► Attention should be paid to vulnerable users when introducing car daytime lights. For a long time, motorcycles were the only vehicles with daytime running lights (DRLs), but this conspicuity advantage has been questioned due to the rapidly increasing introduction of DRLs on cars as well. The present experiment was designed to assess effects of car DRLs on motorcycle perception in a situation that specifically brought attentional conspicuity to bear. Photographs representing complex urban traffic scenes were displayed briefly (250ms) to 24 participants who had to detect vulnerable road users (motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians) appearing at different locations and distances. Car DRLs hampered motorcycle perception compared to conditions where car lights were not on, especially when the motorcycle was at a greater distance from the observer and when it was located in the central part of the visual scene. Car DRLs also hampered the perception of cyclists and pedestrians. Although the globally positive safety effect of car DRLs is generally acknowledged, our study suggests that more attention should be paid to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users when introducing car DRLs. Several means of improving motorcycle conspicuity in car DRL environments are discussed.