Abstract
The objective of the study was to investigate age related effects on visual acuity and reflected-glare associated with daytime and nighttime driving conditions. Fifty-six participants (28 young, 28 old) recruited from Virginia Tech student population and Blacksburg Community were tested in the study. Landolt's Circle Method was adopted to assess visual acuity under simulated daytime and nighttime conditions. Although, the age and distance main effects were found to be significant, no differences were reported among all the distances within the young group. The study also examined the effects of reflected headlamp glare on age and mirror types on the basis of angle of incidence, illumination-front-of-eyes and rating scores. The results indicated that with the same glare level (as measured by angle and illumination in front of the eye), elderly adults reported lower glare rating scores (i.e. worse feelings of glare). Furthermore, the young and elderly both reported lower De Boer's rating scores for planar driver-side mirrors than non-planar driver-side mirrors. This result can have practical implications in reducing nighttime discomfort glare for both young and elderly.
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