Objective: A series of experiments assessed biases in perceived distance that occur while driving as a function of the backlight position of the car ahead and fog density. Background: V. Cavallo, M. Colomb, and J. Doré (2001) have shown that smaller horizontal backlight separation and fog may result in increased estimates of the distance between an observer and a car of which only the backlights are visible. They also predicted that raising the height of the car backlights would lead to increasing distance estimates. Method: Distance perception was assessed in both static and dynamic computer-simulated scenarios in which the distance estimates were performed using a familiarized analog scale or using time-to-collision judgments for both pairs of backlights and single backlights. Results: In a series of five experiments, the horizontal separation and fog density effects were replicated. In addition, distance estimates were consistently larger with higher than with lower vertical backlight positions. Conclusion: There is reason to believe that biases in distance perception may be augmented by car backlight positions and by low-visibility weather conditions. Application: Car designers should take backlight placement seriously. Speed-dependent car-to-car distance control systems seem desirable to counteract biases in distance perception.

EXPLOR_STEP=$WICRI_ROOT/Wicri/Rhénanie/explor/UnivTrevesV1/Data/Main/Exploration

HfdSelect -h $EXPLOR_STEP/biblio.hfd -nk 001505 | SxmlIndent | more

HfdSelect -h $EXPLOR_AREA/Data/Main/Exploration/biblio.hfd -nk 001505 | SxmlIndent | more

{{Explor lien
   |wiki=    Wicri/Rhénanie
   |area=    UnivTrevesV1
   |flux=    Main
   |étape=   Exploration
   |type=    RBID
   |clé=     ISTEX:7B0815F4C16281F7A01916531577845D98724593
   |texte=   Car Backlight Position and Fog Density Bias Observer-Car Distance Estimates and Time-to-Collision Judgments
}}