43. Visibility Improvement Systems for Passenger Cars

Traffic accidents at night time have big economic consequences hence the characterization of accident events is very important. At night, the velocity of processing relevant visual information is low in the human subject and the risk of an accident is increased compared to daytime. For lighting design for night-time traffic, the visual process is not only influenced by the visual targets to be detected but also the observers (i.e., the drivers). For good object detection and recognition performance, a certain minimal luminance level must be provided on the road and its surrounding field by the vehicle’s lighting system. The low luminance on the road during dark hours, the small contrast between the objects and their surroundings and the low conspicuity of the objects in traffic space originate from the limited range of illuminated roadside with current low beam front lighting illumination systems. The improvement of visibility and a substantial reduction of traffic accidents are only possible by an increased usage of optimized high beam. To develop high-quality front lighting systems, advanced light source technologies, adaptive light distributions and so-called “light-based” lighting functions shall be used. The primary aim is the achievement of long visibility distances in all traffic situations.