This report presents the results of the driver's field of view and the performance of six crossview and two sideview mirror systems on a conventional long-nosed school bus. It also contains an evaluation of the image quality of the crossview mirrors in terms of the angular length and width of their reflected images. The field of view measurements and the image quality evaluation were done at two driver eye locations: one representative of the cyclopian view of a 95th percentile adult male, and the other one representative of the cyclopian view of a 5th percentile adult female. The term "blind spot" was defined as meaning any area that could not be seen directly by the driver. None of the crossview mirrors on the bus performed adequately in that they did not eliminate the blind spots and provide good quality images to the front and sides of the bus. No crossview mirror reflected all the cylinders along the rear axle, and where they were viewed, the image quality was not always acceptable. The Double Nickel sideview mirror system had a narrower field of view than the mirrors installed by the bus manufacturer. Although the image quality of the sideview mirror systems was not formally evaluated, the Double Nickel had better image quality. (A)
Abstract