Examination of Driver Interpretation and Response to Snowplow Rear-End Lighting Configurations

Abstract

Pursuing clear and safe roadways during the winter weather season is a key priority; however, the process of plowing roads has inherent risks given icy road conditions, risky driver behavior, high speed differentials, and low visibility. This work examined differences in driver interpretation and response to existing and proposed snowplow rear-end lighting configurations. Ninety-seven participants completed an online survey where they rated the likelihood of signal interpretations and driving maneuvers they would take as an approaching driver. An orthogonal factor analysis was conducted resulting in five interpretation-response factors across signal states. The proposed designs were more accurately perceived as running when presenting a running signal and braking when presenting a braking signal. Existing configurations were more likely to be incorrectly interpreted as turning when the signal was not indicating turning. Findings suggest that the existing rear-end snowplow lighting configurations may be ambiguous and the proposed designs reduce this ambiguity.