The Effect of Rear-lighting system Design on Preventing Rear-end Collisions in a Simulated Distracted Driving

Rear-end collisions account for approximately 29% of all vehicular accidents. While various cues can inform drivers of a lead vehicle’s stopping behavior, brake lights remain the primary and most critical signal for indicating deceleration. The concept of redundant signaling—well-supported by both basic and applied research—suggests that additional visual cues can enhance driver response times. This study examined the effect of incorporating a redundant pictorial stop cue into rear brake light configurations on driver reaction times during a cognitively distracted, simulated car-following task. Forty-eight drivers participated, responding to three rear light configurations which depicted three different taillight-to-brake lights transitions—Traditional without additional pictorial stop cue, the 2023 Jeep Renegade model with an “X”-shaped motif, and a Redundant Pictorial Signal—while concurrently performing a math-based cognitive distraction task. Results showed that the redundant rear light configuration significantly reduced braking reaction times compared to the traditional setup and demonstrated potential for reorienting driver attention back to the driving task. These findings suggest that integrating redundant visual stop cues into rear light designs may help prevent rear-end collisions or reduce their severity and associated fatalities.