Citation

Green M. Accid. Reconstr. J. 2006; 16(3): 18-19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite a number of reports supporting the existence of the Moth Effect (ME), the loss of driver control due to attraction to off-road lights or other phenomena that disturb concentration and serve to attract, most researchers are skeptical that such an effect exists, stating that empirical evidence is lacking. However, several recent experimental studies have convincingly demonstrated the ME; drivers do steer in the direction of intense fixation. These studies are not published in accident reconstruction or human factors sources, but rather in basic scientific periodicals. In this article, the author first briefly discusses older research that failed to validate the ME, and then describes the research from scientific journals that provides clear evidence that drivers do steer in the direction of fixated objects by the roadside. Lastly, the perceptual factors that create the ME and some of the variables that affect its plausibility as an accident cause are given.