Evaluation of Enhanced Brake Lights Using Surrogate Safety Metrics: Task 1 Report
Further Characterization and Development of Rear Brake Light Signals —
Significant performance gains can be achieved via use of LED signal approaches that both flash and increase signal intensity or lamp brightness.
Evaluation of Enhanced Brake Lights Using Surrogate Safety Metrics: Task 2 & 3 Report
Development of Rear Signaling Model and Work Plan for Large Scale Field Evaluation — Eye-drawing capability is believed to represent the most effective means of redirecting a distracted driver’s attention to the forward view when a
rear-end crash is imminent.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
The pulsating brake lamps draw other drivers’ attention to what is happening with the
vehicle in front more effectively and more quickly than steady burning lamps.
Enhanced rear lighting and signaling systems
Results showed improvements in brake activation times of 0.25 to 0.35 seconds, corresponding to 15 to 30 feet (4.6 to 9.1 m) of additional stopping distance for the enhanced lighting.
Effectiveness of flashing brake and hazard systems in avoiding rear-end crashes
Results showed that flashing brake system and flashing hazard system reduced drivers’ brake response times by 0.14∼0.62 s and 0.03∼0.95 s, respectively, in the various situations tested.
A simulation-based study of the effect of brake light flashing frequency on driver brake behavior from the perspective of response time
In the 50 and 80 km/h driving environments, although there were no significant differences among the three deceleration rates, the braking response time decreased by 3–7% under the flashing brake light condition.
Effects of flashing brake lights on drivers’ brake reaction time and releasing accelerator gas pedal time
The current research using dynamic flashing brake lights with a flashing frequency of 7 Hz showed that flashing brake lights significantly reduced the brake reaction time. This reduction was equivalent to 10.78 m at a speed of about 120 km/h or 7.19 m at 80 km/h.
