Glare from outdoor high mast lighting: effects on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in comparative studies of...

Glare effects on visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were studied at outdoor timber terminal work with conventional far-reaching floodlighting and with a new type of oblique floodlighting with an asymmetrical light distribution. The binocular work visual acuity of 19 volunteers was measured at 40, 55 and 80 per cent contrast and the contrast sensitivity of 14 volunteers at spatial frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 cycles/degree. With the light source 15 degrees from the centre of the visual fields the visual acuity as well as the contrast sensitivity was consistently lower with the conventional type than the new type of floodlight . The results thus indicate that not only the vision of details is impaired by glare but also the contrast perception of sparse patterns. In standardized rating scales the timber terminal workers scored the difference in glare between the two floodlight systems as "great"--"very great".