Perception of Hazards
Driving at night
increases the time a driver takes to percive a hazard. That
is, unless the roadway is well lit. In the above situation
the roadway was poorly lit and a tractor-trailer was stopped
blocking 3 lanes of travel. A vehicle impacts the trailer
after leaving 24 ft. skid marks. An anlysis of the perception/reaction
time, vehicle speed and Texas law was performed. Texas transportion
code states that headlights must reveal a vehicle at a minimum
distance of 150 ft. Based on this distance the driver didn't
have enough time to percieve/react and stop before impacting
the trailer.
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