The Role of Retinal Adaptation in Night Driving

Abstract

The data suggest that vision is mediated by cone pathways at 5 lux and by rod pathways at 0.5/0.1 lux. This shift does not profoundly affect sensitivity, but because rod pathways are known to be slower than cone pathways, it will certainly affect observers' ability to respond to rapidly changing viewing conditions such as are encountered when driving at night.