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Drivers' Perceptions Of Headlight Glare From Oncoming And Following Vehicles
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In recent years, an increasing number of drivers have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about headlight glare. A number of comments concerned objections to glare from fog lamps and high-mounted headlights on trucks and SUVs. The comments from the public to the NHTSA Docket 01-8885 helped to identify many of the glare concerns of the U.S. driving population. The large number of glare complaints demonstrated the extent to which the public was concerned with the glare from other vehicles. The number of comments was larger than those that NHTSA received on other safety concerns. However, the docket comments may not provide a true assessment of the glare concern of the driving population.

High intensity of headlights may extend the visibility of objects ahead, but it may also increase the discomfort that glare of the headlights may cause to drivers of other vehicles. Glare can also reduce visibility distances by reducing object contrast or causing drivers to avert their eyes from the roadway to avoid discomfort. The challenge for headlight designers and regulators is to maintain an appropriate balance between glare and visibility. While empirical research is often necessary to quantify these tradeoffs, such research can only study a small number of drivers under a limited set of real world conditions. This limits the extent to which findings can be generalized to the entire population of drivers as well as to real world driving conditions.

To help put the docket comments on glare into perspective, NHTSA asked the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to include several questions pertinent to this issue in a series of nationwide telephone surveys titled ‘Omnibus Survey’. These surveys were conducted monthly (January to December, 2002) with a new sample of subjects each month. However, the questions concerning glare were asked only during the first six months: January to June 2002. The questions pertaining to drivers’ perceptions of glare from oncoming and following vehicles is the subject of this study.

Based on the survey, the primary objective of this study was to obtain a nationally representative assessment of drivers’ perceptions of glare. Additionally, the objective was to confirm if drivers’ perceptions of glare are associated with their age and gender and bring out the differences that might exist due to gender and age of the respondent.

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