LED Module Structure: Estimation of Safety Effects

Although drivers use various sensory channels to control and navigate their vehicles, they acquire most of all driving-related information visually. In fog, no matter what visual acuity is, the visual channel is useless due to the induced poor visibility. Driv-ers react differently to the adverse weather, resulting in high speed variation. That is why it has the high fatal rate during foggy conditions. Then, it is imperative to provide drivers positive guidance in fog. In this study, the Fog Detect and Warning System (FDWS), being called as the fog lighthouse, was conceived to inform drivers of safety speeds and distances between each vehicle. FDWS includes visibility meters, light bars, and vehicle detectors. The visibility meters calculate sight distances when fog occurs and the estimated sight distances inform drivers through the light bars which are installed at every 30m intervals. The light bars which display red warning lights inform a following vehicle of the position of the leading vehicle to keep the safety distance between the two vehicles. Since the main lights with the high-bright LED (Light Emitting Diode) have high visibilities, drivers can easily recognize far away. Also microwave sensors together with the light bars are installed to detect the presence of vehicles at every 30m intervals. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effectiveness of the fog system on driver behavior and con-sciousness. As a pilot study, FDWS was implemented on a 1km section of National Highway No. 37 with a divided four-lane, rural highway. The analysis of the driver behavior was based on mean speed with standard deviation, and a questionnaire survey was conducted to estimate the driver consciousness. The results indicates that FDWS significantly led to an about 3kph (for day