Can an increase of speed affect a truck driver's perception?
Show the correct answer
Correct answer
A. Yes, a higher speed causes a change of perception.
Explanation
In the photo, you are driving a lorry on a dual carriageway, overtaking another lorry combination. An increase in speed really does change the way you perceive things - answer A.
The Road Traffic Act requires you to drive at a speed that ensures control of the vehicle, and one of the reasons is the physiology of vision. The faster you drive, the further ahead your eyes look and the narrower your useful field of view becomes: at low speed you take in almost 180 degrees, at 80 km/h only a section of the road in front of you, and the sides blur into a tunnel. On top of that, it becomes harder to judge the distance and speed of other vehicles, and you notice signs later. Answer B directly contradicts this, and answer C limits the effect to reduced visibility - tunnel vision works the same way on a sunny day. In a lorry, there is also the high seating position behind the wheel, because of which the speed seems lower than it really is.
Legal basis: Art. 19 para. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Prawo o ruchu drogowym)