Brake Light Effectiveness
Bohning and Prudian's investigation attempted to determine which type of lighting (Incandescent\traditional light, LED light, or florescent light) would be most effective as a brake light on an automobile. A brake pedal simulator was created and setup so that when the light illuminated the subject pressed down the brake pedal through a photogate timer which recorded the subject's reaction time. The subject's reaction time was recorded in varying distances from the light, varying amount of light in the testing area, and varying heights of the lights. The investigation showed that LED is the most effective of the three types of lighting, providing the quickest reaction times. The traditional bulb was somewhat effective, but its reaction times were higher than the LED's. It was also deducted that florescent bulbs should never be used in brake lighting because it had terrible reaction times. Bohning-Prudian believe that the automakers should take a good look at LED lighting and consider converting all brake lights to LED lighting.
Research Done By:
Mike Bohning
Warren Mott
Gary Prudian
Warren Mott
Warren Consolidated Schools