Toward the Development of Standards for Yellow Flashing Lights Used in Work Zones

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bierman A ; Bullough, John D. ; Radetsky LC ; Rea MS ; Skinner NP
• Description:
  Flashing yellow warning lights are important for worker and driver safety in work zones. Current standards for these lights do not address whether and how they should be coordinated to provide directional information to drivers navigating through work zones. A field study was conducted to assess driver responses to warning lights. The luminous intensities and flash patterns of warning lights along a simulated work zone were varied during daytime and nighttime. During the daytime, driver responses were relatively insensitive to warning light characteristics, although drivers preferred sequential and synchronised flash patterns over random, uncoordinated flashing. At nighttime, the combination of a temporal peak luminous intensity of 25 cd and a sequential flash pattern was optimal for providing directional information. A single initial warning light having a higher luminous intensity may help drivers detect the work zone without creating unacceptable visual discomfort. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Drivers Lighting Systems Motor Vehicles Safety Equipment Visual Aids Warning Devices Warning Signals Warning Systems Work Zone
• ISSN:
  1477-1535
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  50
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053486
• Citation:
  Light Res Technol 2018 Jun; 50(4):552-570
• Contact Point Address:
  MS Rea, Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 21 Union St, Troy 12180, NY
• Email:
  ream@rpi.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20130901
• Source Full Name:
  Lighting Research & Technology
• End Date:
  20180831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7a50b2ef97929ba033fee1e3acc8a57c052ee29b3605c6fa01a5f23ca409882e5a50b13fd09d5541fce950d54ba13aaf35a6081e97a47b4121216e20423bb948
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216230/cdc_216230_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 643.01 KB ]