ARE DRIVERS' MANUALS UNDERSTANDABLE?

In 1984, researchers determined that the readability of state drivers' manuals exceed the average literary levels in the U.S. Because text complexity threatened the ability of license applicants and practicing drivers to understand the information presented in the manuals, a potential safety risk was indicated. This study analyzes recent editions of the manuals using readability formulas and formal text presentation ratings. It was found that the average difficulty of the drivers' manuals was reduced by more than one grade level and that the 1994 manuals are clearly superior to their earlier versions, but that, in the interest of highway safety, improvement should still be sought.

• Record URL:
  https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c104685905?urlappend=%3Bseq=113
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/7938948
• Corporate Authors:

  Eno Transportation Foundation

  44211 Slatestone Court
  Lansdowne, VA  United States  22075
• Authors:
  • Stahl, N A
  • Henk, W A
  • Eilers, U
• Publication Date: 1995

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 105-116
• Serial:
  • Transportation Quarterly
  • Volume: 49
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Eno Transportation Foundation
  • ISSN: 0278-9434

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driver education; Driver licensing; Drivers; Manuals; Reading; Textbooks
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00675705
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 23 1995 12:00AM