The changing worldwide demographics, relating to the developments of “mega-cities” and the ageing population of drivers, maybe well known to the automotive lighting community. However, there is no clear understanding of how this relates to the development of lighting systems and how it impacts on night driving.
Glare and Visibility issues are intrinsically linked, and over the years have been debated and researched by governments around the world, as a result of persistent complaints about glare. Although there is little evidence that the levels of glare being experienced are sufficient to constitute a safety risk, and there are clear arguments that increased visibility offers safety benefits, there is a significant body of public opinion that does not accept these conclusions.
One of the factors influencing the perception of glare and visibility may be due to the changing demographics. In his keynote speech at the DVN 2018 Tokyo Workshop, Dr Bodrogi concluded that, “the current regulatory requirements are written for young to middle aged observers, but elderly people need more light and more contrast with less glare. In comparison to young people (around 25 years), older subjects (60-66 years) need double contrast and double illuminance (in lx) and 50 % of glare load in order to have the same visual performance”. As an example to put this in perspective, the UK Government’s official 2022 statistics show that of all UK drivers holding a full license (total for all ages 17-85 years = 40.6 million), 30% (12 million) are aged between 60 and 85 years, with most being fit to drive and wanting to remain mobile! This could be an important factor to be considered.
Historically, it has been difficult to address the glare and visibility issue due to limitations in the lighting technology but, with the wide introduction of LED light sources and digital adaptive systems, such as Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB), it is time to focus innovation on the changing demographics and needs of the ageing driver.
This report presents the outcome of a review of recent publications, and awareness of the potential of new technologies to address issues experienced by the significant 30% of drivers over the age of 60 years. These drivers may benefit from customised lighting solutions to enable them to continue driving at night and retain their right to mobility, as long as they are remaining fit to drive on medical and ophthalmic grounds.
Although more research is required, this report attempts to identify how the lighting and signalling regulations may be adapted to meet the challenges posed by the changing demographics. Of course, the work to define the actual performance requirements will require considerable effort by expert organisations, including GTB, in conjunction with the UN Working Party on Lighting and Signalling (GRE).