Methodology to Analyze Sun Glare Impact on Highway under Prolonged Exposure
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 12
Abstract
Sun glare may impair drivers’ vision on a particular road section while driving. Recently, a new method has been developed for analyzing the problem on specific road elements. This method does not account for the prolonged glare exposure, which occurs when the sun position lies uninterruptedly within the driver’s field of vision for an extended period of time along a highway segment. In this article a new methodology for carrying out the analysis of glare problems in road segments under conditions of prolonged glare exposure is presented. The methodology can be applied to both existing roads and new road designs, either for analyzing the impact of prolonged sun glare on drivers or for the design of measures against the sun’s glare. An application to a 45-km long road segment with east-west orientation is presented.
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Acknowledgments
The writers wish to thank Dr. José Puy Huarte, Emeritus Professor at UPM, and writer of the road design software TRIVIUM, for his help and support in building a new modulus for analyzing the variables taken from digital terrain models and the road design in the methodology. We would also like to thank the Extremadura Regional Highway Division of the Spanish Ministry of Infrastructures (Demarcación de Carreteras del Estado en Extremadura del Ministerio de Fomento) for their collaboration.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 12 • December 2010
Pages: 1137 - 1144
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Feb 17, 2010
Accepted: May 12, 2010
Published online: Jun 4, 2010
Published in print: Dec 2010
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