EVALUATION OF MEETING BEAMS BY FIELD TESTS AND COMPUTER SIMULATION

The objective of this study was to conduct field experiments to evaluate alternative meeting beams in terms of visibility distances and glare effects. The conventional U.S. and European low beams were used as a basis for comparison with the experimental mid beams. There was generally good agreement between computer simulation predicted visibility distances and those obtained in the field test. It was concluded that improved meeting beams should incorporate the general characteristics of the mid beams used in these tests and that the mid beams should be dimmed when meeting another vehicle which is in the outside lane and when following another vehicle at distances of less than about 200 ft.