The present book is the final report of a series of investigations on increasing passive safety of utility vehicles by the use of retroreflective contour markings. In this report the essential results of several research projects are summarised. The main three investigation reports and the relevant ECE – Regulation No. 104 are annexed. In part one of this book for a better outline only the main results are discussed without indication of the relevant part in the bibliography. On account of a comprehensive commercial net within Germany and Europe, a higher traffic volume is unavoidable for merchandise. New market strategies also lend to the necessity of extending the shipment to run in the late evening and night-time hours. This leads to an intensified use of the streets by commercial vehicles at this time. The visual perception is clearly limited at night. This leads to the abolition of relevant information and therefore a higher attention requirement of the motorist. In this situation the trucks which drive normally more slowly represent a dangerous obstacle, especially since the effects of an accident are far more fatal for the passenger car drivers on account of the high mass of the trucks. For commercial road vehicles, a minimum marking is prescribed, e. g. in Germany by § 51a StVZO with reflectors positioned on the side. However, these are often failed to be seen on account of their small size or in such a way that reflectors become dirty and are of no use to the motorist any more. Additionally, there is the aspect that trucks are perceived by drivers of passenger cars, but the recognition of the truck often occurs too late. Beginning in the year 1983 the Department of Lighting Technology at Darmstadt University of Technology started to work on the problem of poor visibility of large vehicles under night-time conditions. Starting with an analysis of the existing marking situation of trucks at this time a series of large scale experiments with retroreflective foils was drawn out (1990/1991; 1996 and 1999). In 1993 the test of a combination of contour marking and decent graphics was launched. Up to the end of 1999 all together approximately 3.500 trucks were equipped with those retroreflective contour markings. The reception of visual information comes in 3 steps: detection, perception, and recognition. While the detection and perception only describe the illustration of the picture on the retina and/or the triggering of a stimulus, recognition puts down the comparison of the perceived object with the familiar models stored in the brain. Consequently, it is the most important link in chronological order for identification of an object. (A)
Samenvatting