Ifsttar PhD subject

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Title : Behavioral consequences of glare on driving

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor AME - LAPEA  -  GABAUDE Catherine      tél. : +33 472142450

Director of the main host Laboratory GYSELINCK Valérie  -

Laboratory 2 - Referent Advisor COSYS - PICS-L  -  BREMOND Roland  -    -  tél. : +33 181668534

PhD Speciality Psychologie, Ergonomie

Axis of the performance contract 1 - COP2017 - Efficient transport and safe travel

Main location Marne-la-Vallée

Doctoral affiliation UNIVERSITE PARIS 5

PhD school COGNITION, COMPORTEMENTS, CONDUITES HUMAINES

Planned PhD supervisor GABAUDE Catherine  -  Université Gustave Eiffel  -  AME - LAPEA

Planned PhD co-supervisor BREMOND Roland  -  Université Gustave Eiffel  -  COSYS - PICS-L

Planned financing Contrat doctoral  - Université Gustave Eiffel

Abstract

Context

In France, nighttime car traffic represents around 10% of the daily traffic, with almost as many fatalities as during the day. Multiple factors, such as alcohol, fatigue and degraded visual performance contribute to nighttime accidents (Grüner & Ansorge, 2017). Urban, road and automotive lighting can counter the effects of a degraded visual performance. Unfortunately, with the LED technology, risks of glare are increasing (ANSES, 2019). Very intense light sources, such as headlights, luminaires, or billboards, may cause glare that can make the driver uncomfortable and reduce his driving performance (Theeuwes et al., 2002; Wood, 2002). In addition to the consequences on safety and comfort, there may also be a negative impact on night mobility of some users, in particular the elderly, who are more sensitive to glare and often suffer from cataracts. This is a major issue in the context of an aging population.

The lighting literature has focused on the development of laboratory models allowing to characterize the glare of a lighting installation in terms of discomfort (CIE, 1995) and in terms of the degradation of the perceived contrast (CIE, 2002). But these models fail to address the impact of glare in everyday life, when people are not focused on an artificial laboratory task, but on an everyday task such as driving a car.
Some studies have compared road safety indexes with and without glare, but this literature is incomplete. With glare, a decrease in the motorist's ability to detect critical information, such as pedestrian, is found (Engel et al., 2017; Kimlin et al., 2017), as well as a reduction in the safety margin during left turns (Gray et al., 2011), a variation in speed and acceleration, and greater head movements (Bullough, 2008). According to Graf & Krebs (1976), drivers tend to look towards the crossed vehicle. However, these studies do not allow lighting engineers to control glare in the design of public and automotive lighting. To be able to quantify glare and its consequences on road safety, a link is needed between the psychophysical studies carried out in the laboratory and more "ecological" studies taking into account the driving behavior, in particular the gaze modifications induced by glare, as well as speed adaptation.

Objectives

This PhD aims at studying the behavioral consequences of glare on driving performance, while controlling the physical parameters of glare. It aims at a better understanding of the links between the visual scene (in particular the photometric characteristics of glaring sources), the intensity of glare, visual behaviour (gaze direction, eye movements) and driving performance (speed, lateral position, target detection, etc.). To that purpose, a series of experiments will be carried out on a driving simulator using scenarios relevant to important aspects of the driving task: driving in a straight line, overtaking, pedestrian detection, crossing an intersection, etc. It is hypothesized that the impact of lighting on behavior depends on the driving situation.

The main objectives are:
- To evaluate the impact of glare on driving performance;
- To describe driver adaptation behaviors in the presence of glare;
- To understand the link between glare, behavioral adaptation and degradation of the driving performance;
- To make some proposals for glare diagnosis applied to public and automotive lighting.

Agenda

A bibliography of the literature on glare and on the driving task will help identifying glare and safety indexes, as well as relevant driving scenarios. Driving simulator experiments will be designed to collect data related to the sensations and behavior of drivers in presence of glare sources around the screen (eye tracking, driving performance measurements, judgments of visual discomfort). The use of a driving simulator will make it possible to approach realistic conditions and collect behavioral measurements (speed adaptation, acceleration, trajectory, etc.). A field experiment may be considered during the third PhD year to validate the hypotheses, in collaboration with the applied psychology research group of the Cerema in St Brieuc.

Expected results

This thesis will identify glare use cases and critical glare levels for a safe driving at night. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of road safety issues associated to glare, all the more important with an aging population. In addition, a better understanding of the consequences of glare may lead to quantitative recommendations (e.g. for billboard), and to develop strategies for new adaptive public and automobile lighting.

Références
ANSES (2019) Effets sur la santé humaine et sur l’environnement (faune et flore) des diodes électroluminescentes (LED), 2014-SA-0253, Maisons-Alfort, France.
Bullough et al. (2008) Nighttime Glare and Driving Performance: Research Findings, DOT HS 811 043 Washington: NHTSA
CIE 117 (1995) Discomfort glare in interior lighting Report 117, CIE, Vienna.
CIE 146 (2002) Collection on Glare. Technical Report 146/147, CIE, Vienna.
Engel et al. (2017). Driving at night with a cataract: Risk homeostasis? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic psychology and behaviour 53: 61-73.
Graf & Krebs (1976) Headlight factors and nighttime vision (Final Report No. 76SRC13). Minneapolis, MN: Honeywell Inc., Systems and Research Center.
Gray et al. (2011) Reduced effect of glare disability on driving performance in patients with blue light-filtering intraocular lenses. J Cataract Refract Surg. 37, 38-44.
Grüner & Ansorge (2017) Mobile eye tracking during real-world night driving: A selective review of findings and recommendations for future research. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 10(2):1-18.
Kimlin JA, Black AA, Wood JM. (2017) Nighttime driving in older adults: effects of glare and association with mesopic visual function. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017; 58: 2796–2803
Theeuwes et al. (2002) Relations between glare and driving performance. Human Factors 44(1), 95-107.
Wood (2002) Age and Visual Impairment Decrease Driving Performance as Measured on a Closed-Road Circuit. Human Factors 44(3), 482-494.

Keywords : Automotive driving, glare, driving safety, driving simulation

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor	AME - LAPEA - GABAUDE Catherine tél. : +33 472142450
Director of the main host Laboratory	GYSELINCK Valérie -
Laboratory 2 - Referent Advisor	COSYS - PICS-L - BREMOND Roland - - tél. : +33 181668534
PhD Speciality	Psychologie, Ergonomie
Axis of the performance contract	1 - COP2017 - Efficient transport and safe travel
Main location	Marne-la-Vallée
Doctoral affiliation	UNIVERSITE PARIS 5
PhD school	COGNITION, COMPORTEMENTS, CONDUITES HUMAINES
Planned PhD supervisor	GABAUDE Catherine - Université Gustave Eiffel - AME - LAPEA
Planned PhD co-supervisor	BREMOND Roland - Université Gustave Eiffel - COSYS - PICS-L
Planned financing	Contrat doctoral - Université Gustave Eiffel
Abstract Context In France, nighttime car traffic represents around 10% of the daily traffic, with almost as many fatalities as during the day. Multiple factors, such as alcohol, fatigue and degraded visual performance contribute to nighttime accidents (Grüner & Ansorge, 2017). Urban, road and automotive lighting can counter the effects of a degraded visual performance. Unfortunately, with the LED technology, risks of glare are increasing (ANSES, 2019). Very intense light sources, such as headlights, luminaires, or billboards, may cause glare that can make the driver uncomfortable and reduce his driving performance (Theeuwes et al., 2002; Wood, 2002). In addition to the consequences on safety and comfort, there may also be a negative impact on night mobility of some users, in particular the elderly, who are more sensitive to glare and often suffer from cataracts. This is a major issue in the context of an aging population. The lighting literature has focused on the development of laboratory models allowing to characterize the glare of a lighting installation in terms of discomfort (CIE, 1995) and in terms of the degradation of the perceived contrast (CIE, 2002). But these models fail to address the impact of glare in everyday life, when people are not focused on an artificial laboratory task, but on an everyday task such as driving a car. Some studies have compared road safety indexes with and without glare, but this literature is incomplete. With glare, a decrease in the motorist's ability to detect critical information, such as pedestrian, is found (Engel et al., 2017; Kimlin et al., 2017), as well as a reduction in the safety margin during left turns (Gray et al., 2011), a variation in speed and acceleration, and greater head movements (Bullough, 2008). According to Graf & Krebs (1976), drivers tend to look towards the crossed vehicle. However, these studies do not allow lighting engineers to control glare in the design of public and automotive lighting. To be able to quantify glare and its consequences on road safety, a link is needed between the psychophysical studies carried out in the laboratory and more "ecological" studies taking into account the driving behavior, in particular the gaze modifications induced by glare, as well as speed adaptation. Objectives This PhD aims at studying the behavioral consequences of glare on driving performance, while controlling the physical parameters of glare. It aims at a better understanding of the links between the visual scene (in particular the photometric characteristics of glaring sources), the intensity of glare, visual behaviour (gaze direction, eye movements) and driving performance (speed, lateral position, target detection, etc.). To that purpose, a series of experiments will be carried out on a driving simulator using scenarios relevant to important aspects of the driving task: driving in a straight line, overtaking, pedestrian detection, crossing an intersection, etc. It is hypothesized that the impact of lighting on behavior depends on the driving situation. The main objectives are: - To evaluate the impact of glare on driving performance; - To describe driver adaptation behaviors in the presence of glare; - To understand the link between glare, behavioral adaptation and degradation of the driving performance; - To make some proposals for glare diagnosis applied to public and automotive lighting. Agenda A bibliography of the literature on glare and on the driving task will help identifying glare and safety indexes, as well as relevant driving scenarios. Driving simulator experiments will be designed to collect data related to the sensations and behavior of drivers in presence of glare sources around the screen (eye tracking, driving performance measurements, judgments of visual discomfort). The use of a driving simulator will make it possible to approach realistic conditions and collect behavioral measurements (speed adaptation, acceleration, trajectory, etc.). A field experiment may be considered during the third PhD year to validate the hypotheses, in collaboration with the applied psychology research group of the Cerema in St Brieuc. Expected results This thesis will identify glare use cases and critical glare levels for a safe driving at night. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of road safety issues associated to glare, all the more important with an aging population. In addition, a better understanding of the consequences of glare may lead to quantitative recommendations (e.g. for billboard), and to develop strategies for new adaptive public and automobile lighting. Références ANSES (2019) Effets sur la santé humaine et sur l’environnement (faune et flore) des diodes électroluminescentes (LED), 2014-SA-0253, Maisons-Alfort, France. Bullough et al. (2008) Nighttime Glare and Driving Performance: Research Findings, DOT HS 811 043 Washington: NHTSA CIE 117 (1995) Discomfort glare in interior lighting Report 117, CIE, Vienna. CIE 146 (2002) Collection on Glare. Technical Report 146/147, CIE, Vienna. Engel et al. (2017). Driving at night with a cataract: Risk homeostasis? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic psychology and behaviour 53: 61-73. Graf & Krebs (1976) Headlight factors and nighttime vision (Final Report No. 76SRC13). Minneapolis, MN: Honeywell Inc., Systems and Research Center. Gray et al. (2011) Reduced effect of glare disability on driving performance in patients with blue light-filtering intraocular lenses. J Cataract Refract Surg. 37, 38-44. Grüner & Ansorge (2017) Mobile eye tracking during real-world night driving: A selective review of findings and recommendations for future research. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 10(2):1-18. Kimlin JA, Black AA, Wood JM. (2017) Nighttime driving in older adults: effects of glare and association with mesopic visual function. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017; 58: 2796–2803 Theeuwes et al. (2002) Relations between glare and driving performance. Human Factors 44(1), 95-107. Wood (2002) Age and Visual Impairment Decrease Driving Performance as Measured on a Closed-Road Circuit. Human Factors 44(3), 482-494.
Keywords :	Automotive driving, glare, driving safety, driving simulation

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