Evaluation of the Luminous Intensity Distribution of Stop Lamp for Agricultural Tractors

, 2011)This study was initiated to prevent rear-end collision which causes the most frequent human damage by agricultural tractors. Therefore, this study was aimed to evaluate the luminous performance of a stop lamp for an agricultural tractor which could reduce rear-end collision. The performance test of luminous intensity distribution was conducted for a total of 12 tractor models classified by size (above 44 kW for large, 30~43 kW for medium, and below 29 kW for small) and production area (domestic, foreign manufacture) in accordance with Regulation No.7 of UNECE Vehicle Regulations-1958 Agreement considering ±20 standard deviation. Three out of 5 large, 3 out of 4 medium, and all small tractors were resulted as inadequate for the test criterion. This study found that the luminous performance results were better as the size of agricultural tractors became bigger. One out of 4 foreign and 2 out of 8 domestic manufacturers were suitable for the test criterion, and overall no difference from the luminosity test results was observed between domestic and foreign manufacturers. In addition, the measuring points, HV, 5L, 5R, 5U and 5D with the minimal luminosity revealed flaws (80% of the proportion of faulty products). Therefore, it is urgent to improve the quality for measuring points (HV, 5U, 5L, 5R, 5D) of stop lamps to apply Regulation No. 7.Keywords : Luminous intensity, Agricultural tractor, Stop lamp*Corresponding author: Hyung Kweon KimTel: +82-31-290-1934; Fax: +82-31-290-1930E-mail: khgweon@korea.kr