Making Pedestrian Safety Clothing
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The subcommittee is currently developing standards for making pedestrian safety clothing more visible during the day and at night. It has already published the standard for nighttime conditions and expects to have the daytime standard published by next spring. The nighttime standard includes specifications for color, brightness, and coverage of fluorescent materials.
The E12.08 standards are unique from many other ASTM standards since they involve the factor of human perception. The assignment of the subcommittee is further complicated by the fact that the two standards attempt to address a variety of pedestrians, including casual walkers and highway workers.
ASTM is currently following the model set by European high visibility clothing standards in establishing three classes of usage. The first class is recommended for the casual walker, jogger, or biker. The second class is intended for professional use (e.g. parking attendants and crossing guards). The third class is recommended for industrial applications, such as highway construction and airport workers. The recommended size of the material increases as it goes from class 1 to 3.
The workshop's efforts were concentrated on determining a method to quantify the conspicuity or attention-getting value of various materials. Participants used a method of limited exposure to the stimulus, which would appear at various distances and offsets.
The subcommittee observed several different fluorescent colors and configurations of materials during the daytime. After nightfall, the group observed retroreflective materials with varying levels of retroreflectivity, colors, and patterns.
The working group is planning to report their observations and findings to the E12.08 subcommittee on June 20 at the E12, Visibility Committee, meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dan Turner, jonathan.turner@fhwa.dot.gov.
A Green Light for Pedestrian Safety and a
Walkable America
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| The Pedestrian Safety Road Show encourages local groups to find solutions to pedestrian issues such as this obstructed sidewalk. |
The program encourages participants to form a local group of pedestrian advocates, whether in a public agency or an organized external group, to focus on identifying and solving potential problems that affect pedestrian safety and walkability. The Road Show also explains the tools that are available to local communities.
A unique aspect of the program is that it allows field offices to take a leadership role in delivering the technology to local communities. Partnerships to help deliver the technology are also being sought with private organizations. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency through its Transportation Partners Program has just awarded a major grant to the Bicycle Federation of America (BFA). BFA anticipates using a portion of these new funds to facilitate the Pedestrian Safety Road Show.
There is high interest in the program with over 200 requests nationwide. The Road Show addresses a major, intermediate need of the local community. Our challenge is to create an environment of change in which all communities buy into the concept of pedestrian safety and walkability. You are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to have people trained to facilitate the Road Show in your area. Training sessions for facilitators are being set up in region 10 (August 5-7, Washington), Region 4 (October, Florida), and Regions 5 and 7 (date and location to be determined). For more information, check our Web page at www.ota.fhwa.dot.gov/walk/, or call L. Boodlal.
- Leverson Boodlal,
(202) 366-8044.
UV Technology Lights Up DOT Open House
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| DASCAR with UV headlights displayed in courtyard of DOT headquarters. |
FHWA's Traffic and Driver Information Systems Division is using the DASCAR technology to evaluate the use of the UV headlamps. The headlamps are mounted on the front of the vehicle along with both U.S. and European headlamps. Photographs were displayed on poster boards to demonstrate the effectiveness of the UV headlamps.
Open house attendees were generally intrigued by the increased visibility of the roadway markings and pedestrians with the use of the UV headlamps. Some of the most asked questions were:
Q: How soon can they be purchased?
A: The UV headlamps are prototype technology. The current research efforts will continue for about 5 more years, so it will be quite a while before the headlamps will appear in the marketplace.
Q: What do they look like to oncoming drivers?
A: Since the UV light is invisible to the human eye, there is very little glare, just a purple haze when motorists look directly into the lights.
Q: How much more will cars cost with these lights?
A: The prototype technology is very expensive; however, it is expected that the headlamp manufacturers could refine the technology to be relatively inexpensive.
Q: Can I put a UV light bulb in my current high-beam housing?
A: No. The gas discharge bulb requires more power and the use of several unique filters.
Q: Were pedestrians who participated in the demonstrations wearing special clothing?
A: No. The clothes they were wearing were purchased at a local department store and washed one time. Standard laundry detergents contain fluorescent materials which react with the UV to create visible light, thus making the pedestrians easy to see.
Attendees to the open house were generally excited about the prospect of having the UV headlamps on their vehicles and were inquisitive about their availability. Older drivers commented that they were hopeful this new technology would eliminate some of the frustration they have when driving at night.
Dan Turner. jonathan.turner@fhwa.dot.gov or Samuel Tigno, sam.tignor@fhwa.dot.gov.
