Different Behavior from car and truck drivers during nighttime driving in the Brazilian market

Nighttime driving behavior differs from that during the day because of differences in the driver's field of view. At night, drivers must rely on their vehicle headlamps to illuminate the roadway. It is essential then that the driver is able to see the environment and road conditions in front of him. This paper presents the needs of the driver's (car and truck) due to the environment and road conditions from the state of Sao Paulo (Brazil). A survey has been done to compare the needs from the truck and car driver under different road conditions. The results show the necessity to tailor the beam pattern according to the driver needs, providing safer nighttime driving according to the driver's and market needs.