Citation

Sivak M. HSRI Res. Rev. 1979; 10(3).

Copyright

(Copyright © 1979, University of Michigan Highway Safety Research Institute)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present review dealt primarily with the theoretical analysis of the nighttime conspicuity problem and with empirical data on the effect of retroreflectorization. The theoretical analysis concluded that: (a) A treatment resulting in an increased visible size or increased contrast (luminance) is likely to be conspicuity-enhancing and therefore, (b) retroreflectorization of parts of vehicles would likely be beneficial for highway safety. While the available empirical data are not extensive, they do suggest that retroreflectorization of highway vehicles in general and trucks in particular would increase their nighttime rear and side conspicuity and thereby reduce the likelihood of accidents.