U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Driving in Poor Visibility: Limits to Perceiving Motion

NCJ Number
128432
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 64 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/March 1991) Pages: 22-25
Author(s)
A H Reinhardt-Rutland
Date Published
1991
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A major factor in road accidents -- poor visibility -- is explored. Obvious causes of poor visibility are heavy precipitation and fog. Less obvious causes may be dirty windscreens and heavy traffic obscuring the driver's view of the roadway environment.
Abstract
The driver's perception of motion in poor visibility may lead to underestimated speed both of themselves and of other road-users, and misperception of distance. Because perception is such an immediate aspect of psychological functioning, failures of perception pose considerable problems in their alleviation. Suggestions for improvement concern lighting and conspicuity. First, roadway lighting at night should help in reducing accidents by increasing the salience of relative visual movement for the driver. Second, the limits of retroreflective material should be recognized. The increasing availability of electronic measurement, regarding close-following in particular, could help in developing an effective enforcement campaign for safer driving in poor visibility. 14 notes

Downloads

No download available

Availability