Thesis Literature Review Resources BPV 7/26/2012
THESIS BPV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5xrmXYluVE video of MARSS
Multicolor Auxiliary Rear Signal Systems (MARSS) as Access for Drivers with Disabilities

PROPOSAL
1) objectives and scientific, engineering, or educational significance of the proposed work;
(2) suitability of the methods to be employed;
(3) qualifications of the investigator and the grantee organization;
(4) effect of the activity on the infrastructure of science, engineering and education; and
(5) amount of funding required. It should present the merits of the proposed project clearly and should be prepared with the care and thoroughness of a paper submitted for publication.

PAPER
5 chapter format :
Chapter 1 Introduction
which introduces the research topic, the methodology, as well as its scope and significance (1) objectives and scientific, engineering, or educational significance of the proposed work that independent observers, using the same procedures, will come to consensus regarding the phenomenon they are studying. In other words, personal opinions, values, and biases will not change observations recorded with scientific objectivity.
Chapter 2 Literature Review
reviewing relevant literature and showing how this has informed the research issue
Chapter 3 Methodology
explaining how the research has been designed and why the research methods/population/data collection and analysis being used have been chosen
Chapter 4 Findings
outlining the findings of the research itself
Chapter 5 Analysis and Discussion
analysing the findings and discussing them in the context of the literature review (this chapter is often divided into two—analysis and discussion
Chapter 6 Conclusion

Even typical drivers presumed to be non-disabled will benefit from being able to see when the car ahead of them stops accelerating during high-speed low-visibility conditions. We need a way to build awareness and develop a consensus position on the necessity of adopting MARSS as public access to inter-vehicular communication to improve reaction time during traffic-flow. The addition of green to the rear signal systems of all vehicles can accomplish this goal.
BPV

1.0 PROBLEM: CONGRUENCE BETWEEN TRAFFIC SIGNALS AND INTER-VEHICULAR COMMUNICATION; A NEED FOR: Multicolor Auxiliary Rear Signal Systems (MARSS) as: Access for Drivers with Disabilities
2.0 WHAT ARE SIGNAL SYSTEMS? In Peirce’s Sign Theory, a Semiotic, gives an account of signification, representation, reference and meaning. Prime examples include traffic lights as sign of stimuli-response priority (functioning with the signifying capability of words) in virtue of the conventions surrounding their use
2.1 HISTORY OF VEHICULAR SIGNAL SYSTEMS; United Kingdom, USA and International, within classifications
2.2 DEFINITION OF MULTICOLOR AUXILIARY REAR SIGNAL SYSTEMS (MARRS); legal in 3 States in the USA
2.3 DEFINITION OF INTER-VEHICULAR COMMUNICATION (IVC); modern electronic augmentation devices
3.0 NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSING OF SEMIOTICS THROUGH CODED COLORS; what colors mean
3.1 PROCESSING VISUAL STIMULATION OF COLOR AT TRAFFIC INTERSECTIONS; existing color paradigm
3.2 MARSS AS CONGRUENCE WITH INTERSECTION TRAFFIC SIGNAL SYSTEMS; identical neural-trace usage
3.3 MARSS AS HIGH-SPEED LOW-VISIBILITY AUGMENTED COMMUNICATION; increasing reaction times
4.0 UNIVERSAL ADOPTION OF MARSS AS ACCESS FOR DRIVERS WITH DISABILITIES; all highway vehicles
4.2 BEHAVORIAL ELEMENTS AS A COMPONENT OF MARSS; reaction time improvement for disability categories
4.3 ECONOMIC ELEMENTS AS A COMPONENT OF MARSS; cost efficiency and reliability beneficial to all drivers
4.4 LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAW ELEMENTS AS A COMPONENT OF MARSS; access for drivers with disabilities
5.0 HYPOTHETICAL PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION; from legal and voluntary to mandatory for all highway vehicles

http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/65/25/56/PDF/BRAIN_RESEARCH_PDF1363.pdf

Brain Research, 2010, 1363: 117-127.
Attention and processing of relevant visual information while simulated driving:
a MEG study

A. Fort 1, R. Martin 2 A. Jacquet-Andrieu 4. C. Combe-Pangaud 5 , S. Daligault 3 , G. Foliot 6 & C. Delpuech 3
1 INRETS-LESCOT, Bron, France 2 ISH, Lyon, France 3 CERMEP, Bron, France 4 Paris Est University / LabInfo – UMR 8049, Paris, France 5 CRIS/LEACM – EA 647 6 ISH/PRI – UMS 1798

2.2.1. Neuronal network activated by the change of traffic lights from green to amber
The results show the activation of a widely distributed neuronal network in ST and DT (Fig. 2). As depicted in Fig. 2A, a first large source of activity was observed within the primary and secondary visual areas from 140 ms to the end of the analysis window (Brodmann areas, BAs 17/18 and 19). This activity was maximal around 230 ms and was larger in the left hemisphere both in ST (amplitude of the max on this region: 46 pA m) and DT (58 pA m).

(fig. 2 – MNE results showing the main neuronal network activated by (A) the traffic light change from green to amber, in simple task (ST) and dual task (DT) according to the time rendered onto three different views (lateral, posterior and horizontal) of a standard template brain and time-course estimations of the activity in surrounding brain regions)
A strong activity was observed around the right temporoparietal junction (BA 39) from 200 ms (Fig. 2B). This activity reached its maximum around 280 ms in both ST (64 pA m) and DT (51 pA m). Then, it spreads out to the posterior areas of the right frontal lobe (Bas 4 and 6) (Fig. 2 C). This activity started around 200 ms and reached its maximum around 300 ms in ST (62 pA m) and 325 ms in DT (49 pA m). The bilateral medial frontal area (BA 6, supplementary motor areas) were activated with a maximum around 360 ms in ST and DT (48 vs 42 pA m) (Fig. 2D). Finally, the bilateral superior parietal areas (BA 7) were also activated (Fig. 2E). In ST, this activity first occurred on the left hemisphere from 170 ms with two peaks: one at 215 ms in ST (32 pA m) as in DT (34 pA m) and one at 400 ms in ST (50 pA m) and at 430 ms in DT (53 pm). The right superior parietal cortex was also activated, but less so, with one peak at 285 ms in ST (43 pA m) and another at 335 ms in DT (35 pA m).

Concerning the main neuronal network involved in processing relevant visual cues for driving, the results revealed that, regardless of the attentional state of the subject and the kind of information to be processed (traffic light or arrow), it implies visual areas and a right fronto-parietal network. Primary and secondary visual areas showed stronger activity in the left hemisphere than in the right. This difference could be due to the partly crossed architecture of the visual streams. Indeed, as all traffic lights and arrows appear in the right field of view, they are firstly processed in the left cerebral hemisphere. The fronto-parietal network observed here is consistent with that described in literature and involved during tasks requiring attention orientation to relevant cues (Bowyer et al., 2009; Nobre, 2001). Thus, the temporo-parietal junction has been observed repeatedly in a variety of tasks requiring the redirection of attention to task-relevant information (ventral attention system) (Corbetta and Shulman, 2002; Mitchell, 2008) and the superior parietal lobule would be engaged in tasks involving the shift of attention, as is the case in our study (dorsal attention system) (Bowyer et al., 2009; Le et al., 1998; Vandenberghe et al., 2001).

All activities recorded are consistent with the driving task, which strongly engages top-down and bottom-up attention and implies shifting attention between a great number of potential relevant cues for safe driving. Interestingly, the peaks of activity within the right temporo-parietal junction and the middle frontal areas (ventral attention system) appear later for the arrows than for the traffic lights. Again, this difference can be explained by the fact that, even if both pieces of information can be anticipated (when the green traffic light or the white board starts to be visible on the screen), the time pressure for traffic lights is stronger than for arrows. Then, an activation of the bilateral medial frontal areas which seem to be linked to the motor responses has also been observed. Nevertheless, this activity is stronger for traffic lights than for arrows.

This difference can be explained by the difference in the time needed to make a decision according to the kind of cues. Behavioral results have shown that the mean reaction time to the appearance of arrows is very long compared to the reaction time to traffic light changes and it is longer than the analysis window. Consequently, brain activity linked to the motor responses for the arrows is not visible in this analysis. Note that another factor can influence this brain activity, the type of motor response related to each kind of visual information. Indeed, the motor response for the traffic lights consists in removing the foot from the accelerator pedal before pressing the brake pedal. Comparatively, the motor response for the arrows (consisting in activating the indicator) is easier. As the indicator is close to the wheel, this can be done with a simple finger movement. These results are consistent with a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examining the brain network involved in simulated car driving (Graydon et al., 2004). These authors also observed the activation of a fronto-parietal network including the bilateral posterior parietal cortex (BA 7), the right temporo-parietal junction (BA 39) and the middle frontal gyrus (BA 6) that would be related to the selection of sensory information and responses, as well as to the detection of behaviorally relevant sensory events (dorsal and ventral attention systems).

http://vpnl.stanford.edu/papers/grillspector_occipitallobe.pdf Article Number: EONS : 0793

Vision begins with the spatial, temporal, and chromatic components of light falling on the photoreceptors of the retina and ends in the perception of the world around us. The occipital lobe contains the bulk of machinery that enables this process. However, our perception of the world is also affected by expectations and attention. Indeed, through extensive feedback to the occipital lobe and other lobes of the brain, especially the parietal and temporal lobes, general cognitive processes influence our visual perception.

The vertical meridian representation of the two hemifields is joined via a large fiber system called the corpus callosum. From the optic chiasm there are two separate pathways that lead to the brain. The smaller one goes to the superior colliculus, a nucleus in the brainstem, which then projects to the thalamic pulvinar nucleus.

MAPPING VISUAL AREAS: RETINOTOPY
Before the functions of the different areas are discussed, we first need to have an accurate map of the visual areas in the occipital lobe. Recently, our understanding of the functional organization of the human brain has greatly expanded due to the development of neuroimaging techniques [mainly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] that allow direct noninvasive observation of patterns of brain activity in normal human subjects engaged in sensory, motor, or cognitive tasks. In particular, fMRI has been used to chart the retinotopic and functional organization of the visual cortex in the human brain. Visual field topography has been a primary source of information used to identify and map different visual areas in animals and humans. The mapping from the retina to the primary visual cortex is topographic in that nearby regions on the retina project to nearby regions in V1. In the cortex, neighboring positions in the visual field tend to be represented by groups of neurons that are adjacent to but laterally displaced within the cortical gray matter.

Depth
Compared to the work that has been performed on motion and form processing, there are fewer studies concerning the processing of depth, surfaces, and three-dimensional (3D) structure.

Color
The primate retina contains three classes of cones— the L, M, and S cones—that respond preferentially to long-, middle-, and short-wavelength visible light, respectively. Color appearance results from neural processing of these cone signals within the retina and the brain. Perceptual experiments have identified three types of neural pathways that represent color: a red-green pathway that signals differences between L and M cone responses, a blue-yellow pathway that signals differences between S cone responses and a sum of L and M cone responses, and a luminance pathway that signals a sum of L and M cone responses. Two main hypotheses have been proposed that link neural activity and color. One emphasizes regions in cortex that may play a special role in color perception, and the second emphasizes a stream of color processing stages beginning in the retina and extending into the cortex… Recently, researchers used fMRI to measure color-related activity in the human brain. They measured the difference in activity caused by achromatic and colored stimuli…Other results from several laboratories show that opponent color signals can be measured in a sequence of visual areas, including early visual areas. For example, for certain stimuli, the most powerful responses in area V1 are caused by lights that excite opponent color mechanisms. Measurements with contrast-reversing lights and simple rectangular patterns reveal powerful color opponent signals along the pathway from V1 to V2 and V4/V8. Moreover, moving stimuli, seen only by opponent color mechanisms, evoke powerful activations in motion-selective areas located in the lateral portion of the parietooccipital sulcus.

CONCLUSIONS
Several general organization principles can be extracted from the data summarized in this entry. First, the occipital lobe is composed of a number of distinct visual areas. Second, several of these stages contain a retinotopic representation of the visual field. However, ascending through the processing stages the retinotopic mapping becomes coarser, whereas the functional properties of these areas become more complex. Third, all visual tasks activate an extended network of visual areas, including V1/V2.

This is consistent with the idea that processing of visual information requires both local processing in lower visual areas and more complex operations extracting global attributes in high-level stages. Fourth, there is a general tendency of motion and depth processing to activate the dorsal processing stream extending into parietal and midtemporal cortex, whereas color and form processing tend to activate the ventral processing stream, extending to ventral occipitotemporal areas.

Kalanit Grill-Spector,
Department of Psychology,
Stanford University,
Jordan Hall, Bldg. 420 room 414,
Stanford,
CA 94305-2130,
Phone: (650) 725-2457,
Fax: (650) 725-5699,
Email: kalanit@psych.stanford.edu

(http://www.salk.edu/news/pressrelease_details.php?press_id=99, taken
– 7/27/2012)

The status-quo rear signaling system currently uses bright and dim red tail-lamps to communicate changes in spee. Much of the brain’s visual processing takes place in the occipitallobe. I quote: “The team found that the timing intervals between briefand long bright light flashes could create an optical illusion.Volunteers were asked to fixate their vision at a point on a computerscreen. Then, two lights were flashed; one short, the other long, andthe volunteers were asked which one was brighter. When the short lightflashed at the beginning of the long-duration light it appeared to thevolunteers to be dimmer, but when it flashed at the end of the longlight the short light was reported as brighter. The illusion showedthat timing is as important as spatial influences in allowing thebrain to measure brightness, which raises new questions on how nervecell networks encode visual signals to mediate our perception ofbrightness. The scientists concluded that the illusion arose fromnerve cell activity in the cerebral cortex, specifically in the areaof the brain that handles higher visual functions.

Eagleman, D. M., Jacobson, J. E., & Sejnowski, T. J. (2004). Perceived luminance depends on temporal context. Nature, 428(6985), 854-856. doi:10.1038/nature02467

Spatial interactions in brightness perception are well known
1,2 but provide an incomplete description; the TCE shows that brightness is influenced by temporal context as well. Our results further show a surprising juxtaposition of facts: first, that information encoded about the brightness of stimuli changes over time, such that the appearance of physically identical brief flashes compared to a persisting long flash varies as a function of stimulus onset asynchrony (Fig. 1c); and yet, second, the perceived brightness of a long flash remains constant over time (Fig. 2a). This indicates that brightness encoding might involve at least two neural populations: one with an adapting response that diminishes over time, and the other with a downstream response that assigns brightness labels to objects and does not adapt. We propose that the TCE arises from an interaction between these non-adapting and adapting encodings. In our model, activity in the non-adapting population remains constant—thereby encoding an unchanging label—even while its input from the adapting population diminishes (Supplementary Fig. S1; for an example of such hysteresis, see ref. 9). The hypothesis that some neurons maintain a brightness label is consistent with the idea that the brain strives to monitor the external world undistracted by predictable changes in its own physiology.

(http://mybrainnotes.com/memory-language-brain.html, taken -7/27/2012)

This whole paradigm of neurophysiological stimuli and response can be easily studied by having a researcher operate one driving simulation algorithm for each option, both the current red-only status quo, and the proposed MARSS. The fMRI will trace blood-flow metabolism rates, defining the neuraltrace connectivity in switching from the Occipital Lobe fordull/bright Red neural processing with Null-Ho; to the SemioticPre-Frontal/Limbic system for ‘anticipation and gratification’ for theaddition of the Green running-light to the paradigm of visualcommunication being turned into action.
Adding the color green, denoting positive acceleration, to rear signaling systems will create the effective communication needed for people with disabilities to access safer driving conditions. Semiotic Cross-Referencing of ‘green’ tap-into the’language-processing’ parts of our ‘attention-stimulation -HUB’ (youknow, the part of you that anticipates the positive emotional responseof seeing green as a symbol for ‘Go’), the brain will more quickly respond.  I quote: “”The frontal cortexis involved in executive control, delayed gratification, long-termplanning,” writes Robert M. Sapolsky in Monkeyluv and Other Essays onOur Lives as Animals (2005). “It does this by sending inhibitoryprojections into the limbic system, a deeper, more ancient brainsystem involved in emotion and impulsivity.

http://psych.colorado.edu/~mbanich/p/PayingAttentionToEmotion.pdf

Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
2003, 3 (2), 81-96

Cognition and emotion are intricately intertwined, because individuals orient toward, perceive, and interpret external stimuli in the context of their motivational and behavioral significance. Information associated with danger, for example, may be especially likely to capture or engage attention. Behavioral studies have confirmed that people are slower to shift attention away from words with emotional significance (e.g., Stormark, Nordby, & Hugdahl, 1995), supporting the notion that emotional factors may have an important influence on the deployment and operation of attention. How emotional factors modulate activity in brain regions involved in attention is thus an important question. To address this issue, in the present investigation, we examined the impact of emotional salience on activity in neural systems of attention by examining the influence of emotional and non-emotional distractors on brain activation. One viewpoint regarding the relationship between emotion and cognition holds that reciprocal brain regions are involved in emotional versus cognitive tasks. For example, Drevets and Raichle (1998) found, across a wide range of PET studies, that a constellation of regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), was consistently more active during cognitive tasks but was less active during tasks with an emotional component. A complementary constellation of regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the ventral ACC, and the amygdala, was more active for emotional tasks and less active for non-emotional tasks. The authors interpreted these findings as supporting a reciprocity, or tradeoff, between cognition and emotion, such that as activity increases in cognitive regions, it decreases in emotional regions and vice versa. Although the reciprocity conception of cognition and emotion may be a useful heuristic for conceptualizing some functions or neural systems, other systems may be less easily classified as cognitive or emotional, because they sub-serve functions that are crucial to both cognition and emotion (e.g., Gray, Braver, & Raichle, 2002; Simpson, Drevets, Snyder, Gusnard, & Raichle, 2001). Thus, an alternative to the cognition–emotion reciprocity position is that tasks typically classified as cognitive and emotional may at times rely on common, overlapping neural systems, due to their common, overlapping computational and behavioral functions.

The difference between tasks in the areas of decreased activity fits with the notion that although both color–word and emotional Stroop tasks require an attention set to be established, the tasks differ in the nature of the representations that need to be ignored or suppressed. That is, in the color–word Stroop, participants must inhibit representations of the meaning of color–word information, whereas in the emotional Stroop, participants must inhibit representations of emotional meaning.
For the color–word task, the bilateral deactivation in the parahippocampal regions, which we have also observed in prior color–word Stroop studies (Banich & Milham, unpublished observations), may be linked to the binding function served by the hippocampal system. Prior work indicates that this system is crucial in binding together or associating information in distinct cortical processing streams (Cohen & Eichenbaum, 1993; O’Reilly & Rudy, 2000).

81 Copyright 2003 Psychonomic Society, Inc.
R.J.C. was supported by NIMH Institutional National Research Service Award MH19554, and thisresearch was supported by the Beckman
Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and by NIH
Grants R01 MH61358 and R21 DA14111. The research was carried out
in collaborationwithCarle Clinic Association in Urbana, IL. The authors
gratefully acknowledgeVikram Barad, Daniel Gullett,Lawrence Hubert,
Holly Tracy, and Tracey Wszalek for technical assistance and Eric Claus
and Derrick Wirtz for assistance in data collection. Correspondence concerning this article may be addressed to R. J. Compton, Department of
Psychology, Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Avenue, Haverford, PA
19041 (e-mail: rcompton@haverford.edu) or to M. T. Banich, Department of Psychology, University of Colorado, UCB 345, Boulder, CO
80309 (e-mail: mbanich@psych.colorado.edu).
Paying attention to emotion:
An fMRI investigation of
cognitive and emotional Stroop tasks
REBECCA J. COMPTON
Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania
MARIE T. BANICH
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
and
APRAJITA MOHANTY, MICHAEL P. MILHAM, JOHN HERRINGTON, GREGORY A. MILLER,
PAIGE E. SCALF, ANDREW WEBB, and WENDY HELLER
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3197797/

Neuroimage. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 January 2.
Published in final edited form as:
Neuroimage. 2012 January 2; 59(1): 25–35.
Published online 2011 June 21. doi:  10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.037
PMCID: PMC3197797
NIHMSID: NIHMS304243
A Selective Review of Simulated Driving Studies: Combining Naturalistic and Hybrid Paradigms, Analysis Approaches, and Future Directions
V. D. Calhoun1,2,3,4 and G. D. Pearlson3,4
1The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM 87106
2Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87109
3Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living, Hartford, CT 06106
4Dept. of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
Correspondence: Vince Calhoun, Ph.D., The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM 87106, Ph: 505 272-1817, Email: vcalhoun@unm.edu

Traditional fMRI interpretive methods rest on a priori hypotheses about the time courses of component brain functions that comprise the experimental task, and frequently reflect experimenters’ assumptions about the functional capacities of particular brain regions and how they act individually versus collectively. For a complex behavior like driving, these assumptions may be questioned; additional complexities exist because multiple brain circuits are not only activated simultaneously, but in a complex manner where a particular region may contribute differentially to several circuits. The multiple responses of skilled driving overlap and interact in ways that make modeling their time course uncertain. Accordingly, we explore the application of a data-driven approach, independent component analysis (ICA), in this complex behavioral context. ICA extracts covarying ensembles of voxel time courses without needing an a priori specification of onsets and offsets. Rather, the onsets and offsets are compared to the time courses estimated using ICA. In our analysis we use group ICA, an approach pioneered by our group, which produces subject-specific maps and timecourses (Calhoun, et al. 2001; Erhardt, et al. In Press).

Based on the anatomic regions which contribute most to each components, we can interpret them in terms of well-known neurophysiological networks as discussed in (Calhoun, et al. 2002). The seven components can be divided into four patterns with alcohol and speed-related effects (Calhoun, et al. 2002). Hypothesized functions (and short anatomic description) of these networks are 1) vigilance (fronto parietal); one of the first presentations of what was later coined the default model network, 2) error monitoring and inhibition (anterior cingulate and medial frontal), 3) motor (primary motor cortex), 4) higher order motor (cerebellar), 5) visual (lingual, cuneus), 6) higher order visual (fusiform, middle occipital), and 7) visual monitoring (cuneus, lingual, posterior cingulate).

[PDF] 
A Survey of Inter-Vehicle Communication
citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.58…rep…
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick Viewby J Luo – Cited by 248 – Related articles

A Survey of Inter-Vehicle Communication
Jun Luo Jean-Pierre Hubaux
School of Computer and Communication Sciences
EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Technical Report IC/2004/24
Abstract
As a component of the intelligent transportation system (ITS) and one of the concrete applications of mobile ad hoc networks, inter-vehicle communication (IVC) has attracted research attention from both the academia and industry of, notably, US, EU, and Japan. The most important feature of IVC is its ability to extend the horizon of drivers and on-board devices (e.g., radar or sensors) and, thus, to improve road traffic safety and efficiency. This paper surveys IVC with respect to key enabling technologies ranging from physical radio frequency to group communication primitives and security issues. The mobility models used to evaluate the feasibility of these technologies are also briefly described. We focus on the discussion of various MAC protocols that seem to be indispensable components in the network protocol stack of IVC. By analyzing the application requirements and the protocols built upon the MAC layer to meet these requirements, we also advocate our perspective that ad hoc routing protocols and group communication primitives migrated from wired networks might not be an efficient way to support the envisioned applications, and that new coordination algorithms directly based on MAC could be designed for this purpose.

http://www.motorists.org/drl/history
A Short History Of Daytime Running Lights
One of the pervasive urban myths plaguing our highways and byways is the belief that daytime use of headlights reduces motor vehicle accidents.
It all started with a Greyhound Bus Company public relations gimmick to promote its “safety image.” There was an apparent reduction in bus accidents and the conclusion was made that the daytime headlight use must be the reason. There was a burst of publicity and daytime headlight use was christened as a great highway safety strategy.
Subsequent studies, slightly more thorough, determined that daytime headlight use on busses had no effect on accident frequency. Those studies have never received nearly as much attention.
Think about this; if you can’t see a bus during the daytime, because it doesn’t have its headlights on, there is a greater problem at play here than “visibility.”
Next, there were mandates of daytime headlight use in a few tundra-laden Scandinavian countries. Subsequent government sponsored studies proved the government was inspired in its mandating of daytime headlight use. Again, subsequent review of these favorable DRL studies indicated the high probability that factors, other than daytime headlight use, were responsible for any reduction in accident frequency.
The same scenario was subsequently repeated in Canada — the government mandates vehicles be equipped with automatic daytime running lights (DRLs) and low and behold government studies find that DRLs may be responsible for saving the human race from roadway annihilation.
Auto manufacturers, never loath to exploit a fad, climbed on the DRL bandwagon and hyped the safety benefits of irritating other drivers by shining headlights in their eyes, during daylight hours. General Motors was the most aggressive on this front.
While seldom admitted, the primary motivation for putting DRLs on American market cars is that it saves money. Rather than building one lighting system for Canada, where DRLs are mandated, and a different system for the US market, GM decided to save a few bucks by just installing the DRL equipped system on both the US and Canadian models.
One of the only large scale U.S. studies completed and published on the effects of DRLs as safety devices was conducted by the insurance industry’s Highway Loss Data Institute. The results; vehicles equipped with DRLs were involved in more accidents than similar vehicles without DRLs. The difference was minimal, but the meaning was straight forward.
DRLs aggravate other motorists, obscure directional lights, waste fuel, “mask” other road users that don’t have headlights on, or don’t have headlights period (pedestrians and bicyclists) and their net effect on accident reduction is zero or worse. Because DRLs negatively affect other motorists, they should be omitted from all new cars by government mandate. Furthermore, all states should explore legislation that limits daytime headlight use to low beam or parking lights.
The government, in concert with various corporate interests has sold the driving public a bill of goods that doesn’t live up to its advertised claims. It seems only fair that the government and the same corporate interests undo the damage they have done.

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=571.108
Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
Print Regulations current to Feb 29, 2012 Subpart B – Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
§571.108 Standard No. 108; Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
S 1. Scope. This standard specifies requirements for original and replacement lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment.
S2. Purpose. The purpose of this standard is to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents, by providing adequate illumination of the roadway, and by enhancing the conspicuity of motor vehicles on the public roads so that their presence is perceived and their signals understood, both in daylight and in darkness or other conditions of reduced visibility.
S3. Application. This standard applies to:
(a) Passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, trailers (except pole trailers and trailer converter dollies), and motorcycles;
(b) Retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors manufactured to conform to S5.7 of this standard; and
(c) Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment for replacement of like equipment on vehicles to which this standard applies.
……………………………………………………..
S5.5.3 The taillamps on each vehicle shall be activated when the headlamps are activated in a steady-burning state, but need not be activated if the headlamps are activated at less than full intensity as permitted by paragraph S5.5.11(a).
S5.5.4 The stop lamps on each vehicle shall be activated upon application of the service brakes. The high-mounted stop lamp on each vehicle shall be activated only upon application of the service brakes.
…………………………………………………………..

Measuring Reaction Time Post-TBI BrainLine http://www.brainline.org/content/2009/11/research-update-measuring-reaction-time-post-tbi.html
Brain Injury Dialogues: Rehabilitation Dr. James Kelly Talks About Areas of the Brain Affected by Concussion
A brief summary of current research.
Measuring processing speed after traumatic brain injury in the outpatient clinic
Fong, K, Chan, M, Ng, P and Ng, S. NeuroRehabilitation, Volume 24 (2), pp 165-73.
When compared with non-injured people, individuals with brain injury were substantially slower on measures of reaction time, movement time, and mental processing speed. However, while people with TBI were slower, their accuracy did not differ significantly from their non-injured peers.

[PDF] 
World report on road traffic injury prevention
www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/…/summary_en_rev.pdf
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat – Quick ViewApr 7, 2004 – They are the leading cause of mortality among young people ….Furthermore, road traffic injuries cost low- ….. countries, car ownership is high, and most road us- ….. one quarter had traumatic brain injury and one ….. speed, the use of alcohol, driver fatigue or restricted visibility. Roads and roadsides should …

(NTSB, 2001) Highway Special Investigation Report – NTSB/SIR-04/01 – PB2004-917002 – Notation 7673A (including, “Remediation (to correct or ameliorate functional deficits”) – taken: 7/26/2012 http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/safetystudies/SIR0401.pdf
“# 1 recommendation: Need for more data on the extent to which medical conditions contribute to the cause of accident. (NTSB, 2001)”
“Medical conditions such as epilepsy have the potential to adversely affect a driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle, as the accident investigations described earlier indicate. Research has identified several other conditions associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle accidents: visual impairments, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, psychiatric diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, renal diseases, respiratory diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases. 26 The role of medical impairment in accident causation is an issue of concern that may become more prominent due to the growing number of senior 27 and obese 28 citizens. (NTSB, 2001)“
25 Information on this hearing, including the full transcript, is available at .
26 B.M. Dobbs, Medical Conditions and Driving: Current Knowledge, contract #DTNH22-94-G- 05297. Submitted to the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine under contract with NHTSA (2002).
27 Aging has been associated with visual impairments, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, psychiatric diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, pulmonary diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases. See Physicianís Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers, .
28 In the United States, 61 percent of adults are overweight or obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists several diseases that are associated with obesity, including Type 2 diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, osteoarthritis, obstructive sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and psychological disorders like depression ().
“It is imperative that the medical community be aware of the thousands of fatalities and millions of injuries that occur annually on U.S. roadways, and of their responsibility in preventing medically high-risk drivers from further contributing to these numbers. (NTSB, 2001)”

PLATOON COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Documents/ITS%20WC%20challenges%20of%20platooning%20concept%20and%20modelling%2010%20b.pdf” http://www.sartre-project.eu/en/publications
Documents/ITS%20WC%20challenges%20of%20platooning%20concept%20and%20modelling%2010%20b.pdf

The communication system can be seen as a complex data exchange mechanism within the platoon, to potential platoon vehicles and to the back office. Communication between vehicles is denoted V2V communication. The main task for V2V is communication to control and coordinate the movement of the platoon – PUC. Communication between vehicle and BO is denoted V2I communication. Hence the “infrastructure” refers to the BO. The main tasks for V2I is business and guidance oriented communication, see BUC in the section on platoon definitions.
CONCLUSIONS
We have presented opportunities and challenges with the SARTRE project. The project aims to encourage step change in transportation technology. Systems will be developed to enable platooning with a lead vehicle (with a professional trained driver) on unmodified public roads. The following vehicles are under automated longitudinal and lateral control. The drivers of the following vehicles may utilize journey time to relax or work. Additional benefits are increased safety and decreased fuel consumption/emissions.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project has been carried out in the framework of SARTRE project (grant agreement n° 233683), funded by Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) of the European Commission. Project Partners: INSTITUT FÜR KRAFTFAHRZEUGE (ika), IDIADA, RICARDO, SP SWEDEN, TECNALIA-RBTK, VOLVO CARS, VOLVO TECHNOLOGY
REFERENCES
(1) SARTRE Project website www.sartre-project.eu
(2) S. Shladover, “PATH at 20—History and Major Milestones,” IEEE Transactions on
Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 8, pp. 584-592, 2007.
(3) M. Schulze, “Promote-Chauffeur,” Final Report, EU Telematics Applications, 1999.
(4) KONVOI – Development and examination of the application of electronically coupled
truck convoys on highways (http://www.ika.rwth-aachen.de/pdf_eb/gb6-24e_konvoi.pdf).
(5) Task Group p. IEEE 802.11p: Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE), draft
standard, IEEE Computer Soc. 2007.
(6) ALIX 3D3 embedded PC – www.pcengines.ch/alix3d3.htm
(7) PELOPS website – www.pelops.de/UK/index.html
(8) Prometheus Project (“PROgraMme for a European Traffic of Highest Efficiency and
Unprecedented Safety), 1987-1995. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EUREKA_Prometheus_Project

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1067654_gm-develops-technology-to-prevent-crashes

As AllCarTech reports, GM’s new portable vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, currently in development, is testing the technology in two familiar platforms, a transporter the size of a typical GPS unit, and a smartphone app.
The system relies on established Intelligent Transport System (ITS) technology such as Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), which allows for wireless communication between vehicles, cyclists, police officers, construction sites, and pedestrians within a quarter-mile range.
GM’s vehicle-to-vehicle communication system
The benefit of this portable system is that it allows drivers to see not only what’s right in front of them, but also about a semi truck that’s stalled a quarter mile ahead, hard-braking drivers, slippery roads, upcoming intersections, stop signs and other as-yet-unseen hazards. In addition, DSRC-equipped smartphones, carried by cyclists or pedestrians, could alert drivers to their presence ahead.
The automaker says it is working on embedding these communications systems into new vehicles, but it is also looking at ways to retrofit the technology into vehicles that are already on the road.
GM’s vehicle-to-vehicle communication system
According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems could help avert nearly 81 percent of crashes in the United States.

http://www.apa.org/research/action/brake.aspx

Third Brake Light
In 1974, psychologist John Voevodsky invented the third brake light, a brake light that is mounted in the base of rear windshields. When drivers press their brakes, a triangle of light will warn following drivers to slow down. This is the first published study showing that a third brake light reduces automobile accidents.
Practical Application
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) repeated Voevodsky’s experiment on a larger scale, and concluded that Center High Mounted Stop Lamps (CHMSLs) reduce accidents and injuries. As a result, the NHTSA now requires all new cars (since 1986) and all new light trucks (since 1994) to have a third brake light. To see just how well the CHMSLs worked, the NHTSA has charted police-reported crash data from eight states, and has found that CHMSLs reduce rear impacts by 4.3%. Although less dramatic than the original findings, this finding means that since the CHMSL became standard equipment, there have been about 200,000 fewer crashes, 60,000 fewer injuries, and over $600 million in property damage saved every year – not to mention the lives saved. To put that in dollars and cents: for every dollar spent on manufacturing and installing the third brake light, $3.18 is saved.
Cited
Llaneras, R., Neurauter, L., and Perez, M. (2010). Evaluation of Enhanced Brake Lights Using Surrogate Safety Metrics; Task 2 & 3 Report: Development of a Rear Signaling Model and Work Plan for Large Scale Field Evaluation. USDOT/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Advanced Vehicle Safety Research, NVS-331

Voevodsky, J. (1974). Evaluation of a deceleration warning light for reducing rear-end automobile collisions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 59, 270-273.
American Psychological Association, May 28, 2003

© Copyright by Zhonghai Li 2006 http://etclab.mie.utoronto.ca/people/zhonghai/Zhonghai%20Li’s%20PhD%20Thesis.pdf

An Empirical Investigation of the Effect
of Manipulating Optical Looming Cues
on Braking Behaviour in a Simulated
Automobile Driving Task
by
Zhonghai Li
A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Graduate Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
University of Toronto
2.1.2 Causes (approx..
It may seem natural to attribute the prevalence of rear-end collisions to factors such as poor road conditions, poor traffic signal design, poor road alignment and excessive speed. Studies have shown, however, that more than 80% of all rear-end collisions are due primarily to human related factors, such as driver inattention, external distractions, following too closely, and poor judgment. Furthermore, approximately 94% of reported rear-end crashes occur on straight roads, suggesting that visibility problems or curves are not to be blamed (IVHS VI, 1994). To design effective countermeasures for rear-end collisions, therefore, it is necessary to understand in detail human factors issues related to the behavioral, attentional, perceptual, and psychomotor aspects of driver performance.
One of the most extensive studies to determine the cause of rear-end collisions was the Indiana Tri Level Study, which determined that direct driver errors were the definite or probable cause of crash causation in 93% of crashes (Treat, Trumbas, McDonald, Shinar, Hume, Mayer,
Stansifer and Catellan, 1979). A
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/1995/h95_45.pdf
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, D.C 20594
Safety Recommendation
hk December 13, 1995
In Reply Refer To: H-95-45
2
The April 1995 National Transportation Safety Board investigative conference Mobile Collision Warning Technology for Low Visibility bw Awareness Collisions observed that the tail lamp low luminance of 2-18 candela does not increase the visibility of a vehicle in typical daylight fog conditions. Flasher lamps have a luminance of 80-300 candela. Researchers indicated that in daylight when the nominal visibility range of a vehicle is 300 feet, the use of flasher lamps with a luminance of 80 candela can increase the visibility range to 450 feet. The Safety Board concluded that the use of four-way hazard flashers can increase the visibility of stopped or slow-moving vehicles in fog conditions. The increased visibility allowed driver 5 to see and avoid a collision with the rear of vehicle 4. The Safety Board also concluded that the use of emergency flashers by vehicles 1, 2, or 3 may have allowed the following drivers enough time to have avoided striking preceding vehicles.
The measure of the tendency for an object to be easily seen is conspicuity. However, conspicuity does not refer simply to the physical state of an object or hazard but has another component. For the hazard to be perceived, it must be filtered through the senses and past experiences of the driver. A driver can begin the process that leads to addressing a hazard only when that individual attends to sensory input. The increased luminance of hazard flashers increases visibility about 50 percent over taillight use alone. The low beams of an oncoming vehicle can be seen at more than twice the distance of mere taillights. As the fog bank density increases, nominal visibility decreases and the visibility of various vehicle lights decreases proportionately. The use of hazard flashers on vehicles in fog could have as beneficial an effect for hazard perception as separate fog lamps on the rear of vehicles, which might mask brake lights.
http://www.abcarticledirectory.com/Article/Rear-End-Collisions–Statistics–Injuries-and-Prevention/1460314
Rear-End Collisions: Statistics, Injuries and Prevention
A rear-end collision happens when one car crashes into the back of another. This typically occurs because a driver is tailgating or the car in front stops in a panic. The typical scenario for a rear end collision is that a car in front suddenly slows down or stops ( for example to avoid hitting a dog), and the car that is behind it does not have time to react and subsequently collides with the rear end of the car in front.
Injuries and Insurance
The most common type of injury sustained from this type of collision is whiplash. Depending on the strength of the impact, more serious injuries can occur. Herniation is another, more serious injury that may occur from a rear end collision. Minivan passengers sitting in the rear most seats are more likely to be injured in this type of accident because of the poor crumple zone of the rear end of the vehicle.
Typically, when it comes to insurance purposes, the person that collides with the vehicle in front of it is typically found at fault. One exception to the rule is if the car that is rear ended was in reverse at the time. Typically, if the person driving the vehicle that was hit files an insurance claim against the other person driving the vehicle that caused the damage, the driver who rear ended the vehicle will be responsible for the damages of the other vehicle.
Statistics
Rear end accidents are one of the most common types of accidents that happen. In 2006, there were 1.8 million rear end accidents reported. This accounts for 29% of all of the injury crashes that occurred in the U.S. There are over 6 million car accidents that occur in the country every year and around 31% of these are rear end collisions.
Avoiding Rear End Accidents

When it comes to the human psyche, researchers have discovered that typically a driver cannot tell when the vehicle in front of them is driving at a slower speed than they are, except if the car is driving at least 8 or 10 miles an hour slower than they are. With this being said, if a person cannot detect that the car in front of them is going at a slower speed than they are, how can they avoid colliding with it?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0501-avoiding_rearend_collisions.htm
One of the most common kinds of accidents are rear-end collisions. There were one-point-eight million of them in 2006 — that’s 29-percent of all the injury crashes in the United States; but now, researchers say they may be on the road to preventing them.
After more than 20 years of driving, Chris Palmer just had his first accident. He’s far from alone. Multiple car crashes total over six million a year in the United States. Thirty-one percent are rear-end collisions. Since 2004, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has done simulations like this to test the safety of vehicles in rear-end crashes; but graduate student Nicholas Kelling wanted to know more about the human factors involved. Georgia tech engineering psychologists created this animation to simulate a rear-end collision scenario and test drivers’ braking behavior. They found that drivers generally aren’t able to detect when the car in front of them is going slower than they are, unless the difference in speed is at least eight to ten miles an hour.
“Well, if people can’t detect that the car in front of them is going slower, you’re going to run into it,” Gregory Corso, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, told Ivanhoe. Safety devices are designed to protect you if a crash happens, but now, these researchers have developed an algorithm they say could prevent many rear-end crashes from happening by creating a collision warning system that adjusts to the way you drive. “[It] incorporate[s] your driving style and your braking behavior and learn basically how you stop the car and modify its behavior to mimic your behavior,” Dr. Corso explained.
“And we could put it into a warning system to tell people that the car in front of them is not going as fast as they are, and either stop the car or slow up,” Nicholas Kelling, a graduate teaching assistant at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said.
http://www.aip.org/dbis/HFES/stories/18056_full.html
Avoiding Rear-end Collisions
If you spend a lot of time in traffic, chances are you’ve either had or almost had a traffic accident. One of the most common kinds of accidents are rear-end collisions. There were one-point-eight million of them in 2006 — that’s 29-percent of all the injury crashes in the United States; but now, researchers say they may be on the road to preventing them.
After more than 20 years of driving, Chris Palmer just had his first accident. He’s far from alone. Multiple car crashes total over six million a year in the United States. Thirty-one percent are rear-end collisions. Since 2004, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has done simulations like this to test the safety of vehicles in rear-end crashes; but graduate student Nicholas Kelling wanted to know more about the human factors involved. Georgia tech engineering psychologists created this animation to simulate a rear-end collision scenario and test drivers’ braking behavior. They found that drivers generally aren’t able to detect when the car in front of them is going slower than they are, unless the difference in speed is at least eight to ten miles an hour.
“Well, if people can’t detect that the car in front of them is going slower, you’re going to run into it,” Gregory Corso, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, told Ivanhoe. Safety devices are designed to protect you if a crash happens, but now, these researchers have developed an algorithm they say could prevent many rear-end crashes from happening by creating a collision warning system that adjusts to the way you drive. “[It] incorporate[s] your driving style and your braking behavior and learn basically how you stop the car and modify its behavior to mimic your behavior,” Dr. Corso explained.
“And we could put it into a warning system to tell people that the car in front of them is not going as fast as they are, and either stop the car or slow up,” Nicholas Kelling, a graduate teaching assistant at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told Ivanhoe.
Technology that could one day mean safer cars and fewer rear-end collisions. More than just dangerous, rear-end collisions carry a high price tag in the United States. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the cost of treating neck and back injuries from rear-end collisions has spiked to $8.5 million a year.

http://www.psychology.gatech.edu/people/faculty/corso_gregory.php
Gregory M. Corso
General Information
Position
Associate Professor of Psychology
Research Area
Engineering Psychology
Education
Ph.D. (1978) Engineering Psychology
New Mexico State University

gregory.corso@psych.gatech.edu
404-894-6772
J S Coon building 133
Human Engineering Lab
Biography
Research being conducted in the Human Engineering Lab includes the following topics: noise, annoyance and information processing; coding for visual displays; and dynamic function allocation.

Affiliations
Human Factors Society, Founding President of the Atlanta Chapter
Member of Center of Excellence for Research on Training
Member of Graphics, Visualization, and Usability Center
Sigma Xi

Selected publications
Voida, S., Mynatt, E., MacIntyre, strong., & Corso, G.M. (2002) Integrating virtual and physical context to support knowledge workers. IEEE Pervasive Computing, 1(3), 73-79.
Crossland, M., Walker, N., Corso, G.M., & Sparre, E. (1996). Training interface design and task analytic methods. In the Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 40th Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
Corso, G.M. & Moloney, M.M. (1996). Human performance, dynamic function allocation and transfer of training. In Koubek & Karwowski (Eds.), Manufacturing Agility and Hybrid Automation-I. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Human Aspects of Advanced Manufacturing. Louisville, KY: IEA Press.
Surdick, T., Davis, E., King, R., Corso, G., Shapiro, A., Hodges, L. & Elliot, K. (1994). Relevant cues for the visual perception of depth: Is where you see it where it is? Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 39th Annual Meeting. Nashville, TN.
Christ, R.E. & Corso, G.M. (1980). The effects of redundant multidimensional display codes in a complex information processing task. In the Proceedings of the 7th Symposium, Psychology in the Department of Defense, 223-226.
http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safetystudies/SIR0101.html
Special Investigation Report
Vehicle- and Infrastructure-based Technology For the Prevention of Rear-end Collisions
NTSB Number SIR-01/01
NTIS Number PB2001-917003
Summary: In 1999, the most recent year for which data are available, more than 6 million crashes occurred on U.S. highways, killing over 41,000 people and injuring nearly 3.4 million others. Rear-end collisions accounted for almost one-third of these crashes1 (1.848 million) and 11.8 percent of multivehicle fatal crashes (1,923). Commercial vehicles2 were involved in 40 percent of these fatal rear-end collisions (770), even though commercial vehicles only comprised 3 percent of vehicles and 7 percent of miles traveled on the Nation’s highways. Between 1992 and 1998, the percentage of rear-end collisions involving all vehicles increased by 19 percent. In 1999, 114 fatal crashes in work zones involved rear-end collisions, about 30 percent of the multivehicle fatal work zone crashes. Of these, 71 collisions (62 percent) involved commercial vehicles.
In the past 2 years, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated nine rear-end collisions in which 20 people died and 181 were injured (three accidents involved buses and one accident involved 24 vehicles).3 Common to all nine accidents was the rear following vehicle driver’s degraded perception of traffic conditions ahead.4 During its investigation of the rear-end collisions, the Safety Board examined the striking vehicles and did not find mechanical defects that would have contributed to the accidents. In each collision, the driver of the striking vehicle tested negative for alcohol or drugs. Some of these collisions occurred because atmospheric conditions, such as sun glare or fog and smoke, interfered with the driver’s ability to detect slower moving or stopped traffic ahead. In other accidents, the driver did not notice that traffic had come to a halt due to congestion at work zones or to other accidents. Still others involved drivers who were distracted or fatigued.
Regardless of the individual circumstances, the drivers in these accidents were unable to detect slowed or stopped traffic and to stop their vehicles in time to prevent a rear-end collision. According to a 1992 study by Daimler-Benz, if passenger car drivers have a 0.5-second additional warning time, about 60 percent of rear-end collisions can be prevented. An extra second of warning time can prevent about 90 percent of rear-end collisions.5
As the Safety Board reported in 19956 and further discussed at its public hearing, Advanced Safety Technologies for Commercial Vehicle Applications, held August 31 through September 2, 1999, existing technology in the form of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can prevent rear-end collisions. ITS, capable of alerting drivers to slowed or stopped traffic ahead, have been available for several years but are not in widespread use. The technology to alert drivers to traffic ahead includes adaptive cruise control (ACC), collision warning systems (CWSs), and infrastructure-based congestion warning systems. ACC detects slower moving vehicles ahead and closes the throttle and applies the engine brake to slow the host vehicle to a comparable speed.7 CWSs detect slower moving vehicles ahead and warn the driver of the host vehicle about the object ahead so the driver can take appropriate action. Infrastructure-based congestion warning systems use variable message signs to give drivers detailed information about the location of traffic queues. In the nine accidents investigated by the Safety Board, one (and sometimes more) of these technologies would have helped alert the drivers to the vehicles ahead, so that they could slow their vehicles, and would have prevented or mitigated the circumstances of the collisions.
The Safety Board addressed implementation of such systems for commercial vehicles in its 1995 special investigation of collision warning technology and recommended that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) sponsor fleet testing of CWSs for trucks.8 On August 10, 1999, the Board classified the recommendation “Closed-Unacceptable Action” due to inaction by the DOT on testing of the CWS for trucks at that time. (See the “Related Report and Consequent Recommendations” section of this report for further information.)
http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/31000/31000/31067/Musculoskeletal_Disorders_II_Evidence_Report_-__Final__2_.pdf
Evidence Report
Musculoskeletal Disorders II, Spinal Cord Injury and
Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Safety
Presented to
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
May 29, 2009
The purpose of this evidence report is to summarize the available data on the relationship between specific musculoskeletal disorders or spinal cord injury (SCI) and CMV driver performance/crash risk. Driving is a complicated psychomotor performance that depends on fine coordination between the sensory and motor systems. It is influenced by factors such as arousal, perception, learning, memory, attention, concentration, emotion, reflex speed, time estimation, auditory and visual functions, decision making, and personality. Complex feedback systems interact to produce the appropriate coordinated behavioral response (Figure 1). Anything that interferes with any of these factors to a significant degree may impair driving ability.(1) Certain musculoskeletal disorders have the potential to cause pain o limited range of motion in the limbs that might affect driving performance. Similarly, SCI may limit range of motion to a degree that impacts the ability to drive safely.
Table 17 shows the results from another study(99) comparing the driving performance (choice reaction braking task) between individuals with tetraplegia and able-bodied individuals on a driving simulator.
The study found a statistically significant difference between tetraplegic drivers and able-bodied drivers [0.10 seconds, F(1,50) = 6.53, p = 0.014], indicating a slightly longer brake reaction time for tetraplegic drivers. In Table 18, only one statistically significant difference (dual lever sub-group: [F(1,24) = 4.35, p = 0.048]) resulted from comparisons of the single lever (combined lever hand controls for accelerating and braking) and dual lever (two separate lever hand controls for accelerating and braking) tetraplegia driver groups to coordinating control driver groups. Conversely, no statistically significant difference was found between single and dual-lever groups when compared by driver group.
Washington MARSS
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.37.210
RCWs > Title 46 > Chapter 46.37 > Section 46.37.210
Print Version | [No disponible en español]
46.37.200  <<  46.37.210 >>   46.37.215
RCW 46.37.210
Additional lighting equipment.

(1) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than two side cowl or fender lamps which shall emit an amber or white light without glare.     (2) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with not more than one running-board courtesy lamp on each side thereof which shall emit a white or amber light without glare.     (3) Any motor vehicle may be equipped with one or more back-up lamps either separately or in combination with other lamps, but any such back-up lamp or lamps shall not be lighted when the motor vehicle is in forward motion.     (4) Any vehicle may be equipped with one or more side marker lamps, and any such lamp may be flashed in conjunction with turn or vehicular hazard warning signals. Side marker lamps located toward the front of a vehicle shall be amber, and side marker lamps located toward the rear shall be red.     (5) Any vehicle eighty inches or more in over-all width, if not otherwise required by RCW 46.37.090, may be equipped with not more than three identification lamps showing to the front which shall emit an amber light without glare and not more than three identification lamps showing to the rear which shall emit a red light without glare. Such lamps shall be mounted as specified in RCW 46.37.090(7).     (6)(a) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor, and pole trailer used in the state of Washington may be equipped with an auxiliary lighting system consisting of:     (i) One green light to be activated when the accelerator of the motor vehicle is depressed;     (ii) Not more than two amber lights to be activated when the motor vehicle is moving forward, or standing and idling, but is not under the power of the engine.     (b) Such auxiliary system shall not interfere with the operation of vehicle stop lamps or turn signals, as required by RCW 46.37.070. Such system, however, may operate in conjunction with such stop lamps or turn signals.     (c) Only one color of the system may be illuminated at any one time, and at all times either the green light, or amber light or lights shall be illuminated when the stop lamps of the vehicle are not illuminated.     (d) The green light, and the amber light or lights, when illuminated shall be plainly visible at a distance of one thousand feet to the rear.     (e) Only one such system may be mounted on a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor, or pole trailer; and such system shall be rear mounted in a horizontal fashion, at a height of not more than seventy-two inches, nor less than twenty inches, as provided by RCW 46.37.050.     (f) On a combination of vehicles, only the lights of the rearmost vehicle need actually be seen and distinguished as provided in subparagraph (d) of this subsection.     (g) Each manufacturer’s model of such a system as described in this subsection shall be approved by the state patrol as provided for in RCW 46.37.005 and46.37.320, before it may be sold or offered for sale in the state of Washington.
[1987 c 330 § 712; 1977 ex.s. c 355 § 18; 1975 1st ex.s. c 242 § 1; 1963 c 154 § 16; 1961 c 12 § 46.37.210. Prior: 1955 c 269 § 21; prior: 1937 c 189 § 24; RRS § 6360-24; RCW 46.40.100.]
Notes:
     Construction — Application of rules — Severability — 1987 c 330: See notes following RCW 28B.12.050.
     Severability — 1977 ex.s. c 355: See note following RCW 46.37.010.
     Effective date — 1963 c 154: See note following RCW 46.37.010.
http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/816.html#816.160

Chapter 816 — Vehicle Equipment: Lights
 
2011 EDITION
 
VEHICLE EQUIPMENT: LIGHTS
 
OREGON VEHICLE CODE

816.160 Rear mounted lighting system. Each of the following is a requirement for a rear mounted lighting system:
      (1) A rear mounted lighting system shall have a green light, a yellow light and a red light.
      (2) A rear mounted lighting system shall be constructed so that:
      (a) The green light will be actuated when the accelerator is depressed;
      (b) The yellow light will be actuated when the vehicle is moving forward or standing and idling, but not under power from its engine; and
      (c) The red light will be actuated when the motor vehicle is being braked through the use of its braking system.
      (3) The red and green lights of a rear mounted lighting system may be illuminated simultaneously. Otherwise, only one light of the system shall be illuminated at any one time and either the green or yellow lights shall be illuminated when the red lights are not illuminated.
      (4) The lights of a rear mounted lighting system shall be capable of being seen and distinguished from a distance of 500 feet to the rear of the vehicle during normal daylight.
      (5) Rear mounted lighting systems shall not project a glaring or dazzling light. [1983 c.338 §458 (13); 1985 c.16 §240 (13); 1985 c.69 §1 (13); 1985 c.71 §4 (13); 1985 c.393 §13 (13); 1985 c.420 §6 (13)]

http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/idstat/Title49/T49CH9SECT49-921.htm

     Idaho Statutes
TITLE 49
MOTOR VEHICLES
CHAPTER 9
VEHICLE EQUIPMENT
 49-921. REAR MOUNTED ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION LIGHTING SYSTEM. (1) Every motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor, and pole trailer used in the state may be equipped with an auxiliary lighting system consisting of:
(a)  One (1) green light to be activated when the accelerator of the motor vehicle is depressed;
(b)  Not more than two (2) amber lights to be activated when the motor vehicle is moving forward, or standing and idling, but is not under the power of the engine.
(2)  An auxiliary system shall not interfere with the operation of vehicle tail lamps and shall not interfere with the operation of vehicle signal lamps and signal devices. The system may operate in conjunction with tail lamps or signal lamps and signal devices.
(3)  Only one (1) color of the system may be illuminated at any one (1) time, and at all times either the green light, or amber light or lights shall be illuminated when the tail lamps of the vehicle are not illuminated.
(4)  The green light and the amber light or lights, when illuminated, shall be plainly visible at a distance of five hundred (500) feet to the rear.
(5)  Only one (1) system may be mounted on a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, truck tractor, or pole trailer; and the system shall be rear mounted in a horizontal fashion, at a height of not more than seventy-two (72) inches, nor less than twenty (20) inches.
(6)  On a combination of vehicles, only the lights of the rearmost vehicle need actually be seen and distinguished as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
(7)  Each manufacturer’s model of such a system described in this section shall be approved by the board before it may be sold or offered for sale in the state.
History:
[49-921, added 1988, ch. 265, sec. 247, p. 699.]

How current is this law?
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REAR MOUNTED ACCELERATION AND DECELERATION LIGHTING SYSTEM

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Uploaded by STEYOU76 on Jun 14, 2011
If we can see the behavior of vehicles before, we can ensure a smoother driving style, fuel economy and above all a considerable reduction in the risk of accidents.
If we know that the vehicle is traveling at constant speed, we can use the automatic speed control and drive with less effort and fuel consumption. If we see that the vehicle in front accelerates we are now discouraged by the idea of trying to overtake him, and we can guess that the road beyond the vehicle itself is free and does not present any danger.
The assessment of changes in speed of vehicles ahead of us is entrusted exclusively to our senses, although there are systems that allow the car to automatically adjust distance and speed based on the cars before (eg on-board radar, which are very expensive and therefore not in common use), they are not able to indicate to other road users, vehicle behavior, and do not indicate the information also to the driver, but relying only communicate with a computer. On cars produced so far is not used as an indicator of acceleration. The deceleration is denoted by the red light stop, which does not indicate the intensity of the braking and even the possible slowdown due to the use of engine braking.
Traffic is something dynamic, made up of accelerations and decelerations. This “dynamism” is not a proper signaling through the normal rear lights. The device proposed here aims to overcome this limitation by allowing vehicles to easily and clearly indicate the intensity of vehicle speed. In the case of constant speed produces no signal. In the case of acceleration you will have a green light signals, while the deceleration is indicated by red lights. The intensity of the change in speed will be indicated by a greater number of lights on.
A first working prototype is already available, whose shapes and sizes are deliberately abundant for demonstration purposes the same. The device consists of a control unit and a display with two rows of LEDs, just red and green. The indicator of prototype is installed in the area of the rear window and looks like a third brake light in form, while, as size, goes from one end of the rear window. In fact, another useful device is to improve the location of the vehicle in case of poor visibility. Of course still remains the possibility of miniaturization and customization.
Through a special electronic protected by patent application, which uses an accelerometer, the controller communicates with the light intensity of the acceleration (greater acceleration corresponds to an increase in the number of LEDs lit) or deceleration (the behavior is similar, but the lights are red instead of green when it decelerates).
The advantages in terms of security are obvious: every driver would know not only what does the car in front, but also to what degree. This allows a greater readiness to handle emergency situations and improve driving conditions. 8/13/2012
http://contest.techbriefs.com/transportation-2012/2639 8/13/2012
Vehicle Rear Green Signal Lights
Andrey Andreev Albuquerque, NM USAViews: 135
Votes: 1Transportation Jun 25, 2012
Vehicle Rear Green Signal Lights
Indicating Vehicle Acceleration by Turning On when the Accelerator Pedal is Depressed
My idea is to incorporate additional rear green acceleration signal lights into already existing block of vehicle rear lights. Additional rear green acceleration signal lights are turned on automatically when the accelerator pedal is depressed and a vehicle accelerates.
This new feature gives the behind vehicle(s) an additional to the rear red brake and other rear signal lights very important information about the in front vehicle(s) dynamics and its intentions.
Another benefit may come from getting a better understanding of in front vehicles collective dynamics while driving in heavily loaded traffic on busy roads. One may clearly recognize those parts of the ahead road where many vehicles either simultaneously accelerate, which is indicated by a river of the rear green lights, or slowdown, which is indicated by a river of the rear red lights. The most spectacular and fascinating view will be on busy night highways in California.
Want to vote for this entry? Log in to vote for your favorite. Tags Alarm, Cars, Optics, Vehicles

https://www.studentaward-germany.com/idea.php?id=78

the Accelerolight

Short description (max. 250 characters) I propose an additional light signal at the rear of a car: The Accelerolight. It works like a break light but glows green as soon as the car accelerates.Key benefits (max. 250 characters) - reduced energy consumption since more information allows for a smoother driving style- less accidents due to a better understanding of the intention of other drivers- constant reminder of the importance of the driving styleDetailed description (max. 500 words) The energy consumption of a car depends heavily on the driving style. Since driving at a constant and reasonable velocity is the optimal strategy, unnecessary slowdowns and subsequent accelerations have to be avoided. On a highway, the main cause for such breaking maneuvers are other cars. If every driver had additional information on the current acceleration of other drivers it would be easier to anticipate their intention and a smoother and therefore more energy efficient driving style would be possible. One example for such a situation is a driver who wants to join from the acceleration lane. It’s sometimes hard to see if he tries to accelerate to cut in in front of me or just wants to let me pass. Another situation is approaching a car that drives a bit slower. Without knowing its acceleration, the approaching driver would have to slow down. But if he knew that the car was accelerating, she could keep her velocity steady without wasting energy. I therefore propose an additional light signal at the rear of a car: The Accelerolight. It will visualize the current acceleration of the car with a green light. One possible implementation is shown in the image. To make it distinguishable from the breaking lights, it differs in color and shape, so that even persons with a red-green colour blindness won’t get confused. The LED-bar fills from left to right depending on the current acceleration. One of the advantages of this idea is it’s price. The velocity can be directly read from one of the car’s internal BUSes and since computing the acceleration from these values is very easy, there is no need for an additional control box. On the hardware side, only the LED-Array and a small piece of wire so that this system is cheaper than two litres of gas. An additional value is the constant reminder of the importance of a smooth driving style. Finally it also increases safety on the roads. Less misintrepreted maneuvers also means less accidents. What do you think about this idea? It won’t change the world but the cost of this new light would be amortized after the next three stops at the service station.Image: Original from Matthew Hine, Licence: CC BY 2.0http://www.flickr.com/photos/hine/4317167781/

http://www.google.com/patents/US4970493
A lighting system for a motor vehicle is provided with switches which can be removably attached to the gas and accelerator pedals of a motor vehicle. A lighting circuit is connected to these switches and when the accelerator pedal is pressed, a green light goes on. When driver of the motor vehicle turns on the motor or removes his foot from the accelerator, an amber light goes on. When the driver of the motor vehicle puts his foot on the brake pedal red brake lights blink on and off. A switch is attached to the vehicle gear shift lever in such a way that when the gear shift lever is moved to the reverse position, all or at least the brake lights of the vehicle turn on and start to blink.

Inventor: Ki T. Yim
Primary Examiner: Brian R. Tumm
Current U.S. Classification: 340/468; 340/431; 340/463; 340/464
International Classification: B60Q 134
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/4970493
8/13/2012

Claims

Having described the invention, what I claim as new is:

1. In an auxiliary signaling device which can be attached to the rear of a motor vehicle having an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, comprising a plurality of auxiliary battery operated indicator lights including brake lights, said lights adapted to be detachably mounted on the rear of a vehicle, an electric circuit connected between said auxiliary lights and the battery of the motor vehicle controlling said lights so that when the battery of the motor vehicle is connected to said electric circuit and depending on the pedal that is pressed, one of the auxiliary lights turns on to indicate that the motor vehicle is on, or that the driver of the motor vehicle has taken his foot off the accelerator pedal, when the driver puts his foot on the accelerator pedal, then said one light goes off and another of the auxiliary lights turns on to indicate that the road ahead is clear, and when the brake pedal is pressed, said one light and said another light go off and the brake lights go on to indicate that the driver of the motor vehicle is applying his brakes, and a blinder circuit attached to said electric circuit in such a way that said auxiliary brake lights blink on and off to capture the attention of motorists to the rear that the vehicle is stopping, and said vehicle having a gear shift, a switch associated with said gear shift and connected to said auxiliary signaling device so that when the driver of the motor vehicle shifts into reverse gear, said switch is actuated causing the auxiliary brake lights and at least the front and rear built in amber lights of the motor vehicle to begin to blink to warn oncoming motorists and pedestrians of a hazardous situation.

2. In an auxiliary signaling device which can be attached to the rear of a motor vehicle having an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal, comprising a plurality of auxiliary battery operated indicator lights including brake lights, said lights adapted to be detachably mounted on the rear of a vehicle, an electric circuit connected between said auxiliary lights and the battery of the motor vehicle controlling said lights so that when the battery of the motor vehicle is connected to said electric circuit and depending on the pedal that is pressed, one of the auxiliary lights turns on to indicate that the motor vehicle is on, or that the driver of the motor vehicle has taken his foot off the accelerator pedal, when the driver puts his foot on the accelerator pedal, then said one auxiliary light goes off and another of the auxiliary lights turns on to indicate that the road ahead is clear, and when the brake pedal is pressed, said one auxiliary light and said another auxiliary light go off and the vehicle’s brake lights go on to indicate that the driver of the motor vehicle is applying the brakes, and a blinder circuit attached to said electric circuit in such a way that said auxiliary brake lights blink on and off to capture the attention of motorists to the rear that the vehicle is stopping, and said vehicle having a gear shift, a switch associated with said gear shift and connected to said auxiliary signaling device so that when the driver of the motor vehicle shifts into reverse gear, said switch is actuated causing the auxiliary brake lights and at least the front and rear built in amber lights of the motor vehicle to begin to blink to warn oncoming motorists and pedestrians of a hazardous situation, and in addition, causing the rear auxiliary brake lights to go on along with the front and rear amber lights to better warn both oncoming motorists and motorists to the rear that the brakes are being applied.

3. The auxiliary signaling device described in claim 2 wherein when the driver of the motor vehicle applies his brakes, a second switch associated with the brake pedal is connected to the vehicle’s lighting system in such a way that all the lights in the vehicle, both front and rear, and the auxiliary lights start to blink to warn oncoming motorists and motorists of the rear of the motor vehicle that a hazardous situation may be occurring.

4. In an auxiliary signaling device which can be detachably attached to the rear of a trailer pulled by a motor vehicle, comprising a plurality of auxiliary battery operated indicator lights mounted in a single housing, said motor vehicle having an accelerator pedal and brake pedal, said auxiliary lights mounted in said single housing and adapted to be detachably mounted on the rear of the trailer, an electric circuit connected between said auxiliary lights, the battery of the motor vehicle, and the trailer on which said housing is mounted, switches mounted on the brake and accelerator pedals of the motor vehicle controlling said auxiliary lights in said housing when the brake pedal or the accelerator pedal is pressed, so that when the battery of the motor vehicle is connected to said electric circuit, and depending on the pedal that is pressed, one of the auxiliary lights turns on to indicate that the motor vehicle is on or that the driver of the motor vehicle has taken his foot off the accelerator pedal, and when the driver puts his foot on the accelerator pedal, then said one auxiliary light goes off and another of the auxiliary lights goes on to indicate that the road ahead is clear, and when the brake pedal is pressed, said one auxiliary light and said another auxiliary light goes off and at least the vehicle’s brake lights go on to indicate that the driver is applying the brakes, said motor vehicle having a gear shift lever movable into a reverse position, switch means mounted on the gear shift lever in such a way that when the driver of the motor vehicle shifts the gear shift lever into a reverse gear, said switch mean is closed, said switch means connected to said circuit in such a way that when said switch means is closed, all the motor vehiucle’s lights, both front and rear, and all the auxiliary lights blink to more clearly warn oncoming motorists and motorists to the rear of the vehicle of a hazardous condition.
Description

This invention broadly relates to an auxiliary signaling system for motor vehicles, and more particularly to auxiliary signal lights which are designed to be permanently or releasably attached to the rear of motor vehicles or to the rear of trailers for indicating the intention of the driver. This invention was not made with the aid of any Federally sponsored research.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND BRIEF SUMMARY

As automobiles have become more complex the number of lights on the rear of the vehicle has become more confusing. In the past some signaling devices have been provided which actuate red, green or amber lights to indicate the intention of the driver. But the prior signaling devices were comparatively complicated, and they relied on lights that were built into the motor vehicle and so they were not suitable for add-on use for vehicles already in service or for attachment to trailers being towed by vehicles.

These devices were often operated by using the accelerator or brake pedal actuated switches causing the various lights in the car to go “on” or “off”. Other devices had means for causing an intensification of the brightness in the rear brake lights, to warn following vehicles that the driver has depressed the brakes of his vehicle. Due to the number of lights on the rear of the vehicle, the increase in the intensity of the brake lights when the brakes were applied was not very noticeable, particularly in hazy of foggy weather or when approaching vehicles to the rear were driving into the sun. More recently an additional red light has been mounted at eye level on the rear window of some new cars, but this light is not much of an improvement over the lights on lower rear of these cars for the same reason.

CROSS REFERENCE RELATED PATENTS

One approach, as exemplified by the patent to Antunovic #3,375,496, discloses a deceleration indicator for motor vehicles which is mounted on the rear of the vehicle, and like other devices, indicates when the driver has taken his foot off the accelerator.

Another approach, as indicated by the patent to Knopf #3,787,808, provides lights which indicate when the driver of the vehicle has taken his foot off the accelerator, and other lights indicate when the driver of the vehicle has pressed the brake pedal. In addition he has illuminated legends under the lights so that operators of approaching motor vehicles in the rear can read English, they can determine the intention of the driver.

Another approach as indicated by the patent to Doerr, #4,470,036, utilizes separate lights mounted on the rear window which indicate when the driver of the vehicles has taken his foot off the accelerator pedal, and when the accelerator pedal is being pressed. When the gas pedal is being pressed, a green light comes on, and when the brake pedal is being pressed a red light comes on. The sequence of lights is controlled by means of an accelerometer.

The patent to Camp #4,280,116 discloses another approach to a signaling system for vehicles. This complex system also utilizes a sequential signaling device wherein the position of a sequential type switch mounted in a barrel, is controlled by the gas pedal or the rocker arm of the carburetor.

The patent to Ostrowski #4,224,598, discloses a reaction signal device for automobiles which operates so that when the driver’s foot is taken off the accelerator pedal, amber lights go on. When brakes are applied the amber lights go off and the red brake lights go on. When the driver releases the brake pedal the red or brake lights go off and the amber lights go on, until the accelerator pedal is again pressed and then the amber lights go off to repeat the cycle.

Still another approach to automobile signaling devices is shown in the patent to Petrella #2,750,578 wherein it appears that when the accelerator pedal is pressed, the red lights go on to warn vehicles in the rear that the vehicle is stopping.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However none of the references cited above are designed as auxiliary signal lights which can be easily mounted on or disconnected from existing motor vehicles. In addition the existing vehicle signaling systems do not adequately warn both oncoming motorists and following motorists of the intention of the driver. This is because they do not indicate what the vehicle is doing, e.g. backing up or stopped.

Many vehicles on the road today are provided with built in blinker lights which are connected to the lights in the motor vehicle and cause them to blink on and off to warn of a hazardous condition. However the blinker lights are usually separately controlled by a switch so that if the motorist is backing up he must remember to operate the hazard light switch However, the driver often forgets to do this because a possible hazard does not appear at the moment the vehicle is backing up.

In the present invention, auxiliary signal lights which are detachably connected to the light system of motor vehicle are actuated by switches which close or open when the accelerator or brake pedals of the vehicle are pressed or released from pressure. Since the signal lights are detachable they can be mounted on the back of rental trailers or mounted on existing vehicles. In addition, in the present invention, the built-in vehicle blinker circuit or an auxiliary blinker circuit may be used to cause the rear auxiliary lights and/or the built in vehicle lights to blink when the brakes are applied or when the vehicle gear shift lever is put in the reverse position.

What is needed, therefore, and comprises an important object of this invention is to provide an auxiliary vehicle signaling system which can be easily attached or detached from existing motor vehicles and wherein the hazard blinking lights go on automatically whenever the driver puts the shift lever in reverse or applies the brakes.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a simple auxiliary signaling system that can be easily attached or detached from existing motor vehicles and which comprises a plurality of lights that can be mounted in a single housing or in a plurality of scattered differently colored lights at the rear of the motor vehicle or trailer, and which indicate whether the motor vehicle is accelerating, coasting, braking, or going in reverse.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a simple signaling device in which auxiliary lights removably mounted on the vehicle have switches which can be easily and removably attached to the brake and accelerator pedals in the motor vehicle and which cause all the lights in the vehicle including the auxiliary signaling lights to flash or blink to warn both oncoming and following motorists that the driver has applied his brakes or put the gear shift lever in reverse.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent when better understood in the light of the accompany specification and drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 discloses a perspective view of the rear of the motor vehicle, which in the embodiment shown, has the auxiliary signaling lights mounted on the rear window of the motor vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the flexible covering enclosing the switches in the electric circuit.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of all the auxiliary signaling lights mounted in a single housing.

FIG. 4 discloses one electrical circuit which is designed to turn on the auxiliary yellow, green, or red lights depending on whether the driver’s foot is depressing, or not pressing a pedal.

FIG. 5 discloses an electrical circuit like the one shown in FIG. 4 wherein the red auxiliary lights on the rear window of the vehicle blink whenever the brake pedal is pressed.

FIG. 6 discloses another embodiment of an electric circuit which also is connected to the regular automobile light system in such a way that all the lights in the vehicle including the red auxiliary lights on the rear window of the car start to blink when the brakes are pressed, or when the gear shift lever is put in reverse.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, the rear of a motor vehicle 10 has a plurality of auxiliary indicator lights 12, 14, 16, and 18 mounted on its rear window. Light 12 is green and when lit indicates to following drivers that the motor vehicle is proceeding ahead in a normal manner. Indicator light 14 is yellow or amber and when it is lit it indicates that the driver of the motor vehicle 10 has taken his foot off the accelerator pedal and is in process of either braking, or accelerating again. Red lights 16 and 18 indicate to the following vehicles that the car is braking.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary lights are mounted in a housing 20 which adheres to the inner surface of the rear window of the vehicle 10 by means of mastic edge around its periphery. The segments of the glass or plastic lenses 21 covering the rear of housing 20 may be colored red, green, or yellow.

The electric circuit 23 as shown in FIG. 4 accomplishes the warning signaling sequence as described above. To removably attach this circuit to an existing motor vehicle, the switches which are enclosed in a tough flexible envelope are temporarily or permanently attached to the face of the brake and accelerator pedals. When the pedals are pressed, the switches inside the envelope are actuated thereby operating the circuit shown in FIG. 4.

Referring again to FIG. 4 it is seen that the blade 26 of switch 22 mounted on the accelerator pedal 24 is grounded. The switch blade 26 normally engages terminal 28. But when the accelerator pedal is pressed, the switch blade moves form terminal 28 to terminal 30.

The blade 34 normally engages terminal 36 leading to the yellow or amber light 14 if the brake pedal is not being depressed. When the brake pedal 32 is depressed the switch blade 34 moves to terminal 38 enabling the positive terminal of the battery 46 to energize the red brake lights 16 and 18.