Errors in judging the approach rate of motorcycles in nighttime conditions and the effect of an improved lighting configuration

► Individuals use rate of visual looming to judge time to passage (TTP). ► We examine the accuracy of speed judgments for motorcycles and cars at night. ► Extremely poor accuracy in speed judgments for solo headlight motorcycles. ► Tri-headlight configuration improves the accuracy of speed judgments for motorcycles. ► Accuracy improved by separation of headlights on the horizontal and vertical axis. One of the key contributory factors for accident involvement is misjudgment of approach speed (Department for Transport, 2010). Past research has indicated that individuals can use the rate of visual looming in order to the judge time to passage (TTP) of approaching vehicles, and that smaller vehicles loom to a lesser extent than larger vehicles (e.g., Horswill et al., 2005). However, the judgment of TTP in nighttime conditions has received little attention. This paper explores drivers’ abilities to make judgments of motorcycles and car approach speeds in nighttime driving conditions, when only the headlights are visible, as well as the effectiveness of a tri-headlight configuration on the accuracy of motorcycle speed judgments. Results showed that individuals were significantly more accurate at judging the speed of two car headlights compared with the standard solo headlight motorcycle. However, the inclusion of a tri-headlight formation on a standard motorcycle frame significantly improved these judgments. A further investigation demonstrated that tri-headlight configurations with separation between headlights on the horizontal and vertical axes are most effective for yielding accurate speed judgments. The implications of the results for road safety and motorcycle design are discussed.