Effects of the Lateral Position of Low-Beam Headlamps on the Perceived Distanceof Vehicles

摘要

Current U.S. regulations require that if vehicle low beams and high beams areprovided by separate headlamps arranged horizontally, the lower beam shall be provided by the most outboard headlamps. One possible rationale for this is that drivers may use the angular separation between headlamps as a cue for the distance to an oncoming vehicle. The present study was designed to investigate this rationale by evaluating the extent to which peoples' nighttime distance judgments are influenced by low-beam headlamp separation.