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 Post subject: Glare
PostPosted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 22:53 
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Hi all,

I would really like to know how the planning and interaction of lighting from buildings, billboards and streetlights is implemented to reduce glare to the driver? I almost went through a red light the other night, where approaching this light there are a multitude of lights in the background, which can give the impression that the light is green and they are also brighter than red so it dampens out the red light. I also have noticed that some newly erected pedestrian and traffic lights are very very bright when on green, which causes glare when approaching thus not being able to see any wayward pedestrians or cyclists. I think I would like to probe the local council on these issues. Has anyone else noticed,or have, these problems in their area?

Andrew

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 01:41 
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I have the same problem. That said, I have a colour deficiency that means my eyes are less sensitive to red than normal and more sensitive to green. About one in eight caucasian males has a colour deficiency, so it's a lot more common than many people think. Many people who have a colour deficiency don't know they have it. After all, they've had the same colour sight since birth so the colours they see look perfectly normal.

Your post seems to describe classic indications of a colour problem, which is why I'm posting this response. One classic sign that someone may have a red/green colour deficiency is that green traffic lights appear much brighter than red, particularly at night. Another is an occasional difficulty to pick out a red light against a background cluster of white lights (such as your street lighting).

I'm not saying that you do have a colour deficiency, I'm just suggesting that it's a possibility. Only proper tests can show for sure. If you know that you have a colour deficiency, you can compensate. For example, you learn to look for stop-lines as well as the traffic lights; you learn to be extra vigilant when faced with "light fields" that can mask a red light. There is no legal problem to driving with a colour deficiency (the law doesn't care even if you're monochromatic and in charge of a double-decker bus full of children). However, it's a good idea to make allowances if you are affected.

The tests at http://www.biyee.net/v/color_vision_test/ give a pretty good indication if you have a colour problem -- but make sure that you calibrate your monitor before you take the tests (there is a link to instructions on how to do this at the bottom of the page). If having taken the tests, you think you may be affected you should tell your optician when you next have an eye test. Your optician will probably test your colour sight with ishihara plates (pretty much the same as the online tests, but they are more accurate when the plates are printed).

HTH,

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 02:44 
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I can think of several examples where "environmental" lighting on business premises or private houses seriously impinges on visibility for drivers on public roads.

I know I am more sensitive to glaring lights than many people, but that is no excuse.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 03:44 
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Quote:
The tests at http://www.biyee.net/v/color_vision_test/ give a pretty good indication if you have a colour problem

I tried the link but could not see any "start" button and none of the images on the first three links displayed.

I'm running IE6 fully service packed and would be interested in looking at the test.

Is the "start" button they are talking about at the top left of the screen? There is an image box there but nothing in it.

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PostPosted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 09:31 
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M3RBMW wrote:
Quote:
The tests at http://www.biyee.net/v/color_vision_test/ give a pretty good indication if you have a colour problem

I tried the link but could not see any "start" button and none of the images on the first three links displayed.

I'm running IE6 fully service packed and would be interested in looking at the test.

Is the "start" button they are talking about at the top left of the screen? There is an image box there but nothing in it.

Your security settings are probably stopping you from seeing the tests. AFAICT, it's an Active-X or Javascript thingy that works if your IE security is set to medium or lower. On the actual test pages, the Start button is about halfway down. If you have high security, can you temporarily set it to medium to try the test? Failing that, an internet search for "protanopia", "deutranopia", or "tritanopia" should bring up a load of alternative tests.

HTH,

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 19:46 
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willcove wrote:
I have the same problem. That said, I have a colour deficiency that means my eyes are less sensitive to red than normal and more sensitive to green. About one in eight caucasian males has a colour deficiency, so it's a lot more common than many people think. Many people who have a colour deficiency don't know they have it. After all, they've had the same colour sight since birth so the colours they see look perfectly normal.

Your post seems to describe classic indications of a colour problem, which is why I'm posting this response. One classic sign that someone may have a red/green colour deficiency is that green traffic lights appear much brighter than red, particularly at night. Another is an occasional difficulty to pick out a red light against a background cluster of white lights (such as your street lighting).

I'm not saying that you do have a colour deficiency, I'm just suggesting that it's a possibility. Only proper tests can show for sure. If you know that you have a colour deficiency, you can compensate. For example, you learn to look for stop-lines as well as the traffic lights; you learn to be extra vigilant when faced with "light fields" that can mask a red light. There is no legal problem to driving with a colour deficiency (the law doesn't care even if you're monochromatic and in charge of a double-decker bus full of children). However, it's a good idea to make allowances if you are affected.

The tests at http://www.biyee.net/v/color_vision_test/ give a pretty good indication if you have a colour problem -- but make sure that you calibrate your monitor before you take the tests (there is a link to instructions on how to do this at the bottom of the page). If having taken the tests, you think you may be affected you should tell your optician when you next have an eye test. Your optician will probably test your colour sight with ishihara plates (pretty much the same as the online tests, but they are more accurate when the plates are printed).

HTH,



I do have a red/grey colour deficiency but I can easily tell red from green and have never had any problems before until now. What the problem is is that all the background lights are bright white/yellow and it is very difficult to see the red light in the midst of all this, not the colour just the light.

Andrew

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Dec 09, 2004 22:36 
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andys280176 wrote:
I do have a red/grey colour deficiency but I can easily tell red from green and have never had any problems before until now. What the problem is is that all the background lights are bright white/yellow and it is very difficult to see the red light in the midst of all this, not the colour just the light.

The thing with a red/green deficiency is it is insiduous. We don't know any different until something happens to demonstrate how serious the problem is. FWIW, I can tell the difference between red and green under normal circumstances. But strange things happen when faced with coloured lights and I sometimes fail to see a red light against a field of background lights, or fail to distinguish green and yellow lights from white.

For most people with a red/green deficiency, the frequency response of the low-frequency colour receptors (commonly called red cones, although the peak response is yellowish orange) respond to a higher frequency range than normal. That means that red is subdued. A red light appears less bright, and so is more likely to merge into a field of lights, which is exactly the situation you describe. A person with normal colour vision would not have the same problem because their eyes are more sensitive to red, and thus a red light would appear brighter and so stand out more against a light field.

That said, with one in eight males in this country (and about one in fifteen of the population overall) having a colour deficiency, it is wrong that the local authorities don't make allowances. AFAICT, not making those allowances may even constitute not making reasonable adaptations under the disability legislation that became law last October.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 02:49 
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Should have the same system as In Canada. Have different shapes for the lights. This is to aid motorists with Colour blindness etc.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 13:49 
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Derick wrote:
Should have the same system as In Canada. Have different shapes for the lights. This is to aid motorists with Colour blindness etc.


Is that only in certain parts of Canada? I was in Calgary earlier this year and all the traffic lights I saw there were entirely normal. Besides, is there actually any benefit to using different shapes, given that we can already use the position of the light (top, middle or bottom) to determine which colour it should be...





...oh yes, I do seem to recall quite a few lights (the ones mounted above the carriageway) where the head was horizontal rather than vertical - in those situations it might be handy to differentiate by shape rather than position, in case the heads are installed red-on-left at one junction and then red-on-right at another (I don't recall if there was any standardisation of this).


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 17:31 
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I'd have to say that clean glass and decent wiper blade makes and huge different and it's cheap.


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