Drivers’ Perceptions of Headlight Glare from Oncoming and following Vehicles

Safety Administration, in the interest of information exchange. The opinions, findings and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Department of Transportation or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. If trade or manufacturers' names are mentioned, it is only because they are considered essential to the object of the publication and should not be construed as an endorsement. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Recently, U.S. drivers have been expressing concern over the discomfort and reduced visibility that they experience from headlight glare from other vehicles. Drivers have focused their concern on the relatively new high intensity discharge lights, high mounted lights, and various auxiliary lights. In order to better understand this glare problem, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collected data on drivers' perception of glare from a representative sample of U.S. drivers. The survey was conducted through Omnibus Survey of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The present study is based on the information (data) collected on two types of glare: glare from oncoming and following vehicles. The survey data were analyzed to find out how U.S. drivers perceive the two types of glare and if glare perception is associated with respondents' age and gender. Contingency analysis was conducted to establish these associations. The statistics showed that a sizeable number of respondents feel that glare was 'disturbing'. The percent frequency distributions were used to better understand the age and gender profiles of drivers who felt disturbed by the nighttime glare. It was found that the age group 35 to 44 had the highest percentage of night drivers as well as among those who felt glare 'disturbing'. In addition, female respondents of this age group were more of the opinion that the glare from oncoming and following vehicles was 'disturbing' as compared with other age groups of their own gender or even of the opposite gender.