Exploratory Advanced Research . . . Next Generation Transportation Solutions

Seeing in the Dark

Improving Understanding of Driver Visibility Requirements at Night

the visual guidance provided to drivers. As a 

starting point, the project will use the Four Dimensional Real-Time Control System (4D/RCS) 

methodology developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for the 

control of autonomous on-road vehicles. 

Developing a Revolutionary Design Tool

“Rather than measuring how well drivers perform, we want to evaluate how drivers acquire 

visual information and how they then use that 

information,” says Carl Andersen at FHWA’s 

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. 

The resulting software program could be 

used to evaluate roadways, identify possible 

problem areas, and improve roadway safety. 

This revolutionary design tool would significantly advance the understanding of how drivers acquire and act on visual information while driving 

at night and could assist FHWA and other transportation agencies with determining how to 

best design roadways to meet driver needs. In 

the long term, the research could also advance 

the vision of a future highway system that incorporates autonomous vehicles traveling under 

supervisory human control. 

Progress

The project is being conducted by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the 

Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), and NIST. 

Driver performance under varying levels of 

pavement marking luminance was measured at 

TTI in summer 2008. Data from this initial study 

is being used to refine the cognitive task analysis for the autonomous vehicle. It is anticipated 

that the autonomous vehicle will drive the test 

course at TTI in April 2009 under the same conditions as those experienced by the human 

participants, with a final report on the project 

due in late 2009. 

The Exploratory Advanced Research Program Fact Sheet

Determining the Quantity and 

Quality of Visual Information Needed

The project will develop a theoretical framework 

for determining the quantity and quality of visual information needed by drivers to safely 

navigate the roadway, focusing on two-lane 

rural roads. 

One-third of all roadway fatalities involve 

vehicles that run off the road, with this statistic 

increasing to two-thirds of fatalities in rural settings. While daytime driving has been analyzed 

in numerous human studies and in computer 

model development, much less is known about 

how drivers function at night. 

The project will investigate how both human 

drivers and autonomous robotic vehicles negotiate curves at night, with the aim of developing 

a software program that can predict how both 

human drivers and autonomous vehicle systems 

will respond to different combinations of visual 

guidance to navigate curves in the roadway. This 

visual guidance can range from centerlines and 

edge lines to delineators and raised pavement 

markers. The software program will allow researchers to better assess the usefulness of 

What visual cues aid drivers the 

most as they drive at night? 

Advancing knowledge and understanding of how drivers acquire and act on 

visual information while driving at night 

is the goal of “Increased Understanding 

of Driver Visibility Requirements,” an 

Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) 

Program project launched by the 

Federal Highway Administration 

(FHWA) in 2008.
Future Efforts

The results of the autonomous vehicle driving 

tests are key to determining the feasibility of 

developing the desired model of human perception. Developing a robotic system based on 

the NIST 4D/RCS methodology that performs 

similarly to people when carrying out various 

driving tasks will provide insights into the processes by which people acquire the visual information needed to drive. This will, in turn, allow 

researchers to develop models to assess the 

adequacy of the visual information available to 

drivers. 

Learn More

For more information on the project, contact 

Carl Andersen at FHWA, 202-493-3366 (email: 

carl.andersen@fhwa.dot.gov). 

What Is the Exploratory 

Advanced Research Program?

FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research 

(EAR) Program focuses on long-term, 

high-risk research with a high payoff 

potential. The program addresses underlying gaps faced by applied highway 

research programs, anticipates emerging issues with national implications, and 

reflects broad transportation industry 

goals and objectives. 

To learn more about the EAR Program, visit the Exploratory Advanced 

Research Web site at www.fhwa.dot.gov/

advancedresearch. The site features information on research solicitations, updates 

on ongoing research, links to published 

materials, summaries of past EAR Program events, and details on upcoming 

events. For additional information, contact 

David Kuehn at FHWA, 202-493-3414 

(email: david.kuehn@fhwa.dot.gov), or 

Terry Halkyard at FHWA, 202-493-3467 

(email: terry.halkyard@fhwa.dot.gov).

Seeing in the Dark

Improving Understanding of Driver Visibility Requirements at Night

Publication No. FHWA-HRT-09-024

HRTM-04/03-09(1M)E