DrivingResearch.

contrast sensitivity

The visual function of resolving objects across luminance contrast levels: contrast sensitivity thresholds and the contrast sensitivity function (CSF), spatial-frequency sensitivity, and how reduced contrast sensitivity (from age, disease, or low light) predicts hazard detection. Concerns the measured perceptual capacity itself, distinct from the low-light adaptation state that modulates it (dark_adaptation_mesopic) and from the external glare that can spoil it (disability_glare).

Relevant standards

  • CIE 100-1992 — Fundamentals of the Visual Task of Night Driving
  • CIE 143-2001 — International recommendations for colour vision requirements for transport
  • CIE 146:2002 — CIE equations for disability glare
  • CIE 191:2010 — Recommended System for Mesopic Photometry Based on Visual Performance
  • CIE 88:2004 — Guide for the Lighting of Road Tunnels and Underpasses, 2nd Edition
  • CIE TN 007:2017 — Interim Recommendation for Practical Application of the CIE System for Mesopic Photometry in Outdoor Lighting
  • ISO 15008:2017 — Road vehicles — Ergonomic aspects of transport information and control systems — Specifications and test procedures for in-vehicle visual presentation
  • ISO 16505:2019 — Road vehicles — Ergonomic and performance aspects of Camera Monitor Systems — Requirements and test procedures
  • UN ECE R46 — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of devices for indirect vision and of motor vehicles with regard to the installation of these devices

Also in Visibility & Lighting

All of Visibility & Lighting →

Related elsewhere in the corpus

Topics that co-occur with this one far more than chance predicts — these sit in other categories, so the hierarchy would not have shown them to you.

Narrow by how the study was done

Counts are papers in this topic that declare the facet — these facets are sparsely declared, so a small number means few papers said, not few papers did. All facets.

Method 11 of 69 declare it
Instruments & Measures 11 of 69 declare it
Automation level 1 of 69 declare it
Dataset 36 of 69 declare it

69 paper(s) · ranked by relevance to this topic

  1. Visual Impairment and Disability in Older Adults ↗ · 1994 · Rubin, Gary S. et al. · indexed
  2. Peripheral Motion Contrast Sensitivity and Older Drivers' Detection Failure Accident Risk ↗ · 2005 · Henderson, Steven et al. · indexed
  3. Association of Photopic and Mesopic Contrast Sensitivity in older drivers with risk of motor vehicle collision using naturalistic driving data ↗ · 2020 · Owsley, Cynthia et al. · indexed
  4. Seeing into Old Age: Vision Function Beyond Acuity ↗ · 1999 · Hægerström-Portnoy, Gunilla et al. · indexed
  5. Mesopic and glare driving performance in a driving simulator ↗ · 2025 · Kerwin, Thomas et al. · indexed
  6. Contrast Sensitivity Loss in Glaucoma Using the Reaction Time Paradigm ↗ · 2025 · Ezeuchu, Emmanuel · indexed
  7. Prevalence of impairment of visual function in European drivers ↗ · 2009 · van Rijn, Laurentius J. et al. · indexed
  8. Measures of Visual Function and Time to Driving Cessation in Older Adults ↗ · 2005 · Freeman, Ellen E. et al. · indexed
  9. Association between vision impairment and driving exposure in older adults aged 70 years and over: a population‐based examination ↗ · 2013 · Sandlin, Daniel et al. · indexed
  10. Age Differences in Visual Abilities in Nighttime Driving Field Conditions ↗ · 1996 · Chrysler, Susan T. et al. · indexed
  11. Hazard perception in older drivers ↗ · 2012 · Scialfa, Charles T. et al. · indexed
  12. Two-Minute Peripheral Motion Contrast Threshold Test Predicts Older Drivers’ Collisions and Hazardous Driving in Simulator ↗ · 2013 · Henderson, Steven et al. · indexed
  13. Aging and Visual Crowding ↗ · 2012 · Scialfa, Charles T. et al. · indexed
  14. Visual Sensory and Visual-Cognitive Function and Rate of Crash and Near-Crash Involvement Among Older Drivers Using Naturalistic Driving Data ↗ · 2017 · Huisingh, Carrie et al. · indexed
  15. The relationship between central and mid-peripheral motion perception and the hazard perception ability of older drivers ↗ · 2023 · Sepulveda, Juan A. et al. · indexed
  16. Visual motion perception and driving hazard visibility at night-time ↗ · 2025 · Kennon, Catherine et al. · indexed
  17. Effects of Reduced Contrast on the Perception and Control of Speed When Driving ↗ · 2010 · Owens, D. Alfred et al. · indexed
  18. Dynamic Visual Performance between the Ages of 4 and 80 Years: Results for 1850 Normal Subjects ↗ · 1997 · Wist, E R et al. · indexed
  19. Measuring the Quality of Drivers’ Night Vision ↗ · 1981 · Sturgis, Samuel P. et al. · indexed
  20. Reaction times as an index of visual conspicuity when driving at night ↗ · 2002 · Plainis, Sotiris et al. · indexed
  21. Age Differences in the Legibility of Symbol Highway Signs as a Function of Luminance and Glare Level: A Preliminary Report ↗ · 1994 · Schieber, Frank et al. · indexed
  22. The Effect of Simulated Cataracts on Drivers’ Hazard Perception Ability ↗ · 2008 · Marrington, Shelby A. et al. · indexed
  23. Reducing Contrast Makes Speeds in a Video-Based Driving Simulator Harder to Discriminate as Well as Making Them Appear Slower ↗ · 2008 · Horswill, Mark S et al. · indexed
  24. SOME OBSERVATIONS ON DISABILITY GLARE ↗ · 1977 · Cole, B L · indexed
  25. Useful field of view test performance throughout adulthood in subjects without ocular disorders · 2018 · Woutersen, Karlijn et al. · archived
  26. The Relationship Between Visual Abilities and Driving Habits Among Older Drivers: A LongROAD Study · 2018 · AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety · archived
  27. The Association Between Visual Abilities and Objectively Measured Driving Space, Exposure, and Avoidance Among Older Drivers: A Preliminary Analysis ↗ · 2018 · Eby, David et al. · indexed
  28. The Association Between Visual Abilities and Objectively Measured Driving Space, Exposure, and Avoidance Among Older Drivers: A Preliminary Analysis ↗ · 2018 · Eby, David et al. · indexed
  29. The Twilight Envelope: A User-Centered Approach to Describing Roadway Illumination at Night ↗ · 2001 · Andre, Jeffrey et al. · indexed
  30. Effects of Age and Illumination on Night Driving: A Road Test ↗ · 2007 · Owens, D. Alfred et al. · indexed
  31. Measures of Visual Function and Their Association with Driving Modification in Older Adults ↗ · 2006 · Freeman, Ellen E. et al. · indexed
  32. How do visual status and age impact on driving performance as measured on a closed circuit driving track? ↗ · 1999 · Wood, Joanne M. · indexed
  33. Hazard Perception in Older Drivers With Eye Disease ↗ · 2021 · Wood, Joanne M. et al. · indexed
  34. Evaluating Online Measures of Contrast Sensitivity and Visual Acuity ↗ · 2024 · Sheppard, William Edward Anthony et al. · indexed
  35. Associations of visual functions with attitudes about motor vehicle dashboards among older drivers ↗ · 2022 · Swain, Thomas A. et al. · indexed
  36. A comparison of the hazard perception ability of matched groups of healthy drivers aged 35 to 55, 65 to 74, and 75 to 84 years ↗ · 2009 · HORSWILL, MARK S. et al. · indexed
  37. Road Marking Contrast Threshold Revisited ↗ · 2021 · Spieringhs, Rik Marco et al. · indexed
  38. Visual Search for Traffic Signs: The Effects of Clutter, Luminance, and Aging ↗ · 2001 · Ho, Geoffrey et al. · indexed
  39. Vision standards for driving in Canada and the United States. A review for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society ↗ · 2000 · Casson, Evanne J. et al. · indexed
  40. Foggy perception slows us down ↗ · 2012 · Pretto, Paolo et al. · indexed
  41. Visual perception and aging. ↗ · 2002 · Faubert, Jocelyn · indexed
  42. Meeting the UK driving vision standards with reduced contrast sensitivity ↗ · 2015 · Rae, S et al. · indexed
  43. Computational modeling of age-differences in a visually demanding driving task: vehicle detection ↗ · 2000 · Ellis, R.D. et al. · indexed
  44. Can We Predict Steering Control Performance from a 2D Shape Detection Task? ↗ · 2013 · Nguyen, Bobby et al. · indexed
  45. The useful field of view test: a new technique for evaluating age-related declines in visual function. ↗ · 1993 · Ball, K et al. · indexed
  46. The useful field of view test: a new technique for evaluating age-related declines in visual function. ↗ · 1993 · Ball, Karlene et al. · indexed
  47. Age differences in target identification as a function of retinal location and noise level: Examination of the useful field of view. ↗ · 1987 · Scialfa, Charles T. et al. · indexed
  48. Older people's driving habits, visual abilities, and subjective assessment of daily visual functioning ↗ · 1998 · Zur, Areala et al. · indexed
  49. The Distribution of Visibility Levels at Target Detection in a Modified Adrian/CIE Visibility Model ↗ · 2009 · Green, Marc · indexed
  50. Visual and cognitive predictors of driving safety in Parkinson's disease patients ↗ · 2007 · AMICK, M et al. · indexed
  51. When sustained attention impairs contrast sensitivity ↗ · 2010 · Carrasco, M. et al. · indexed
  52. Near Peripheral Motion Detection Threshold Predicts Detection Failure Accident Risk in Younger and Older Drivers ↗ · 2007 · Henderson, Steven et al. · indexed
  53. Symbol Signing Design for Older Drivers · 1997 · Dewar, Robert et al. · archived
  54. The role of sensory factors in cognitive aging research. ↗ · 2002 · Scialfa, Charles T. · indexed
  55. Summary Report: Improvements In Symbol Sign Design To Aid Older Drivers · 1994 · Dewar, Robert et al. · archived
  56. The functional relevance of visuospatial processing speed across the lifespan ↗ · 2023 · Aul, Courtney et al. · indexed
  57. Predicting the Effects of Disability Glare on Driving Performance ↗ · 2007 · Gray, Rob · indexed
  58. Effects of age and eccentricity on visual target detection · 2014 · Gruber, Nicole et al. · archived
  59. Visual Function and Driving Safety ↗ · 1992 · Keltner, John L. · indexed
  60. Collinear inhibition in Williams Syndrome? ↗ · 2010 · Palomares, M. et al. · indexed
  61. Spatially selective responses to Kanizsa and occlusion stimuli in human visual cortex ↗ · 2018 · de Haas, Benjamin et al. · indexed
  62. Spatially selective responses to Kanizsa and occlusion stimuli in human visual cortex ↗ · 2017 · de Haas, Benjamin et al. · indexed
  63. BOLD signal response in primary visual cortex to flickering checkerboard increases with stimulus temporal frequency in older adults · 2021 · Uchiyama, Yuji et al. · archived
  64. Event-related potential (ERP) evidence of early visual processing differences in cystinosis ↗ · 2023 · Horsthuis, Douwe J. et al. · indexed
  65. The perception of visual illusions in Williams Syndrome. ↗ · 2004 · Ogbonna, C et al. · indexed
  66. Novel ‘hunting’ method using transcranial magnetic stimulation over parietal cortex disrupts visuospatial sensitivity in relation to motor thresholds ↗ · 2009 · Oliver, R. et al. · indexed
  67. MRI reveals scoliosis as a silent driver of lumbar facet joint degeneration in aging Ecuadorian adults ↗ · 2025 · Cueva-Medina, Pablo et al. · indexed
  68. 1729-P: Role of ß-Cell Senescence in Islet Transplantation ↗ · 2023 · IWASAKI, KANAKO et al. · indexed
  69. The transcriptional landscape of cancer stem-like cell functionality in breast cancer ↗ · 2024 · Baldasici, Oana et al. · indexed