A system for a host vehicle operating on a road surface includes a polarimetric camera, a global positioning system (“GPS”) receiver, a compass, and an electronic control unit (“ECU”). The camera collects polarimetric image data of a drive scene, including a potential driving path on the road surface. The ECU receives the polarimetric image data, estimates the Sun location using the GPS receiver and compass, and computes an ideal representation of the road surface using the Sun location. The ECU normalizes the polarimetric image data such that the road surface has a normalized representation in the drive scene, i.e., an angle of linear polarization (“AoLP”) and degree of linear polarization (“DoLP”) equal predetermined fixed values. The ECU executes a control action using the normalized representation.