An Investigation of the Effectiveness of A Strobe Light As An Imminent Rear Warning Signal

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dc.contributor.authorSchreiner, Lisa Marieen
dc.contributor.committeechairDingus, Thomas A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberLee, Suzanne E.en
dc.contributor.committeememberKleiner, Brian M.en
dc.contributor.departmentIndustrial and Systems Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:48:39Zen
dc.date.adate2000-12-06en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:48:39Zen
dc.date.issued2000-11-15en
dc.date.rdate2001-12-06en
dc.date.sdate2000-12-01en
dc.description.abstractStrobe lights have been used successfully in many transportation applications to increase conspicuity. It was hoped that a strobe signal could also be applied to more effectively warn distracted drivers of an unexpected rear end conflict. This "proof of concept study" used a 2 x 2 between-subjects design using thirty-three subjects (16 subjects in the strobe condition, 17 subjects in the no strobe condition) who were divided into two age groups: younger (25-35) and older (60-70). The driver unexpectedly encountered a stopped "surrogate" vehicle in the roadway (with or without a rear-facing strobe light) in a controlled on-road study at the Smart Road located at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Results suggested that younger subjects' perception times improved as a result of being exposed to the strobe signal. Faster perception of the situation allowed more time to initiate a brake response. Older subjects perception and response times remained unchanged by the strobe signal. More severe initial steering rate and subjective responses indicated that the strobe conveyed a sense of urgency irrespective of age. Visual distraction of subjects proved difficult. Hence, the impact of the strobe on attracting the attention of a visually distracted driver to the stimulus could not be as fully investigated as originally hoped. The formulation of a more difficult distraction task was suggested for future research to truly assess the ability of the strobe light at alerting visually distracted drivers.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12012000-084911en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12012000-084911/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/35887en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartLiterature.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartPilotStudy.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartAppendicesA-J.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartMethod.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartResults.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartConclusion.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartAppendixK.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartAppendicesL-X.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartReferences.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartTitles.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectVehiclesen
dc.subjectRear signalingen
dc.subjectReaction timesen
dc.subjectStrobe signalen
dc.subjectSafetyen
dc.subjectStrobe lightsen
dc.subjectRear end collisionsen
dc.subjectCollision avoidanceen
dc.titleAn Investigation of the Effectiveness of A Strobe Light As An Imminent Rear Warning Signalen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineIndustrial and Systems Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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