Increasing glare discomfort of drivers from signal lamps has been noted recently as a result of traffic congestion, smooth and transparent lamp glasses and no legal limitations for signal lamp glass luminance. Luminance measurements of vehicle stop, direction indicator and rear lamps for a range of vehicles are presented. Luminances exceeded the limit value given in the Lighting Handbook, Reference and Application, IES of North America. It is suggested that a method of turning off the brake light of a stationary vehicle even when the driver's foot is still on the brake pedal might prevent glare for the following driver. Otherwise the development of brake lamps with two illuminance levels for day and night is proposed. Alternatively retraining of drivers to cease using brake pedal when stationary (and use the handbrake instead) is suggested. Further refinements of lamp test methods are proposed. For the covering abstract see ITRD E123380.
Abstract