Comparative analysis of nighttime pavement marking perception among drivers of different ages: A real-world driving study

Pavement markings are essential for conveying lane boundaries, alignment, and other traffic information to drivers. Their visibility is closely tied to drivers' visual capabilities, which often decline with age. These age-related impairments can hinder drivers' ability to perceive road markings at night, posing potential safety risks. To investigate age-related differences in nighttime perception of pavement markings, this study designed a real-world driving experiment using white pavement markings with nine levels of coefficient of retroreflected luminance (R_L). A total of 360 preview distance observations were collected from 40 participants, including 14 young, 14 middle-aged, and 12 older adults. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was employed to examine how R_L, age, and gender influence nighttime preview distance. In addition, an age-stratified asymptotic regression model was developed to capture the nonlinear relationship between R_L and preview distance. The results showed that: (1) R_L was positively associated with preview distance, while age had a significant negative effect. Gender differences were not statistically significant. (2) There was no significant difference between young and middle-aged drivers, but old drivers had preview distances 14.7%–31.0% shorter under the same R_L conditions. (3) At driving speeds between 60 and 100 km/h, the R_L threshold required to ensure safe visibility for elderly drivers was 1.58–1.70 times higher than that for young to middle-aged drivers. These findings provide practical insights for transportation planners and policymakers in aging societies, highlighting the need for age-sensitive standards in pavement marking design to enhance nighttime driving safety for elderly road users.