Investigation of visibility properties through wetted glass planes on vehicles

When driving a car, the view onto the surrounding traffic must be ensured at all times. Especially the view through the side window onto the rear view mirror and other traffic participants is very important. When driving on a wetted road, water and dirt can impair driving comfort and safety. Surface bound water droplets and rivulets on the windshield and the side glass reduce the visibility. Therefore, a new evaluation method is presented which assesses the view through pools of water on a horizontal glass plane depending on wettability of the glass and the volume of single droplets or the height of water films. It provides information about the transparency behavior of water droplets and the impact factors of a soiled side window on the view through it.