The Development of Figures of Merit for Vehicle Visibility and Conspicuity Systems

Models for calculation of figures-of-merit (FOMs) for the safeworthiness of motor vehicle visibility and conspicuity subsystems are described. The models combine representative driving scenarios with relevant subsystem characteristics and compute a weighted performance metric that provides a relative measure of subsystem performance. Work in progress for comparing model results with passenger car accident data are described and various issues in the application of FOM models are discussed.