ABSTRACT
Thinking about Frontal Light Design – An Approach Promising a Safer Interaction between Riders and Drivers?
According to findings from accident studies (for example Williams and Hoffmann, 1979; ACEM, 2004; McCarthy et al., 2007) inadequate perception of powered two-wheelers (PTW) by other road users is one key factor in the causation of crashes between PTW riders and other motorists. In order to enhance the (visual) conspicuity of PTWs for other road users, numerous conspicuity measures, for example fluorescent clothing, frontal lighting, bike and helmet colour, side reflectors at the bike and/or the tires etc.and so on, have been considered within evaluation studies with respect to their safety benefits (an early comprehensive overview is given by Wulf et al., 1989) and are partly recommended by safety authorities and rider associations. In the present chapter, we focus on the frontal light configuration of PTWs as a potential conspicuity aid which might tackle some disadvantageous attributes of a PTW in the context of its perception by others. From our understanding, frontal light configuration refers to the arrangement, composition and the design of light sources within the frontal view of the PTW. That implies that a light configuration enfolds not only one single light source, for example a solo headlight, rather than a combination of several light sources, for example a solo headlight and additional position lights shaping up a triangle, as a whole.
