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2026 Vol.44, Issue 5 Preview Page

Article

Analysis of the Safety Effects of a Rear Conspicuity Enhancement Device for Trucks

화물차 후부 시인성 향상장치 설치에 따른 주행 안전성 개선 효과 분석

Jongdo SEO1
,
Dongmin LEE2*
,
Juehyun LEE3
,
Taehwan KIM4
,
Seungwon JEONG5
,
Taegu KIM6
서 종도1
,
이 동민2*
,
이 주현3
,
김 태환4
,
정 승원5
,
김 태구6
1Team Manager, Ph.D Candidate, Department of Disaster Management, Inje University, Kimhae 50834, Korea
2Professor, Department of Transportation Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
3Ph.D Candidate, Department of Transportation Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
4M.S. Student, Department of Transportation Management, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
5Research Professor, Department of Transportation Engineering, University of Seoul, Seoul 02504, Korea
6Professor, Department of Occupational Health & Safety Engineering, Inje University, Kimhae 50834, Korea
1인제대학교 재난관리학과 박사수료
2서울시립대학교 교통공학과 교수
3서울시립대학교 교통공학과 박사수료
4서울시립대학교 교통관리학과 석사과정
5서울시립대학교 교통공학과 연구교수
6인제대학교 보건안전공학과 교수
*Corresponding Author
31 October 2026. pp. 778-798
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Abstract

This study aims to empirically evaluate the safety effects of the “Wangnuni” retroreflective device, a conspicuity-enhancing device developed to prevent rear-end collisions involving trucks on expressways. Although the device has been applied in the field since its development in 2019, quantitative empirical evidence regarding its safety effects remains limited. Focusing on the possibility that reduced rear conspicuity of trucks under daytime and nighttime conditions may delay drivers’ hazard perception and response, this study analyzed the effects of the device and its mounting position on drivers’ perception-response characteristics using a driving simulator experiment. The experiment was conducted under daytime and nighttime conditions using a stepwise deceleration scenario of a lead truck. Four device conditions were considered: no device, upper-mounted, middle-mounted, and lower-mounted. Drivers’ responses were evaluated using Time to Collision (TTC), Deceleration Rate to Avoid Crash (DRAC), and Maximum Relative Speed (ΔV). The results showed that the device-mounted conditions exhibited improvement tendencies in some driving safety indicators compared with the no-device condition, and these tendencies were more pronounced under nighttime conditions than daytime conditions. In particular, the middle- and lower-mounted conditions showed relatively greater safety improvement effects. In addition, the post-experiment survey indicated that participants responded positively regarding the visibility, recognition effect, and accident prevention potential of the Wangnuni retroreflective device. Overall, the findings suggest that the Wangnuni retroreflective device may contribute to improving rear conspicuity of trucks, particularly under nighttime driving conditions, thereby supporting drivers’ hazard perception and longitudinal safety margins. This study is significant in that it provides empirical evidence on the safety effects of the Wangnuni retroreflective device from the perspective of drivers’ perception and response characteristics.

Keywords
driver perception-response
driving simulator
highway traffic accidents
rear visibility of trucks
wangnuni reflective device

본 연구는 고속도로 환경에서 화물차 후미 추돌 사고 예방을 목적으로 개발된 시인성 개선 장치인 왕눈이 반사지의 안전 효과를 공학적으로 검증하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 왕눈이 반사지는 2019년 개발되어 현장에 적용되고 있으나 정량적으로 검증한 실증 연구는 현재까지 충분히 이루어지지 않은 실정이다. 특히 주간 및 야간 조건에서 화물차 후부 시인성 저하가 운전자의 위험 인지 및 반응 지연으로 이어질 수 있다는 점에 주목하여, 왕눈이 반사지의 적용 및 부착 위치가 화물차 후부 시인성 개선 효과를 운전자 인지･반응 특성에 미치는 영향을 도로주행 시뮬레이터 실험을 통해 분석하였다. 실험은 주간 및 야간 조건에서 선행 화물차의 단계적 감속 시나리오를 적용하여 수행하였으며, 반사지 부착 조건은 미부착, 상단･중단･하단 부착의 네 가지로 구분하였다. 운전자의 주행 반응은 TTC(Time to Collision), DRAC(Deceleration Rate to Avoid Crash), 최대 상대속도(Maximum Relative Speed, ΔVmax)를 지표로 평가하였다. 왕눈이 반사지 부착 조건에서는 일부 주행안전성 지표에서 미부착 조건 대비 개선 경향이 확인되었으며, 이러한 경향은 주간보다 야간 주행 조건에서 상대적으로 뚜렷하게 나타났다. 특히 중단 및 하단 부착 조건에서 상대적으로 우수한 개선 효과가 관찰되었다. 한편 실험 참여자를 대상으로한 설문조사 결과에서도 왕눈이 반사지의 시인성 및 인지효과, 사고예방 기여에 대해서 긍정적으로 응답한 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과를 종합하면, 왕눈이 반사지는 특히 야간 주행환경에서 화물차 후부 시인성을 보완하여 운전자의 위험 인지 및 종방향 안전 여유 확보에 기여할 가능성이 있는 것으로 판단된다. 본 연구는 왕눈이 반사 장치의 안전 효과를 운전자 인지･반응 관점에서 실증적으로 제시하였다는 점에서 의의를 가진다.

키워드
운전자 인지 반응
도로주행 시뮬레이터
고속도로 교통사고
화물차 후부 시인성
왕눈이 반사지
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Transportation
  • Publisher(Ko) :대한교통학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
  • Journal Title(Ko) :대한교통학회지
  • Volume : 44
  • No :5
  • Pages :778-798
  • Received Date : 2026-04-07
  • Revised Date : 2026-05-13
  • Accepted Date : 2026-06-18
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7470/jkst.2026.44.5.778
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