Pilot study of visibility level with the use of a driving simulator

Abstract

The visibility of obstacles in the road is one of the decisive factors impacting road safety. The difficulty in spotting an obstacle in the road and in evaluating its effect on driving depends on such factors as: lighting conditions on the road and its vicinity, the obstacle's geometric and photometric properties, conditions of observation of objects and the driver's psychomotor function. The obstacle visibility tests were performed using a car driving simulator built in the laboratory of the Poznan University of Technology. The article describes the testing procedure and the visibility level tests results obtained in the driving simulator. The analysis of the obtained results has been performed and the possible use of a driving simulator to test the visibility of obstacles and the driver's visual performance has been verified.