SIGN BRIGHTNESS AND LEGIBILITY
THERE IS A NEED FOR INFORMATION ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN LEGIBILITY OF SIGNS AND THE BRIGHTNESS OF REFLECTORIZED MATERIALS. FOUR FACTORS OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE TO THE NIGHT LEBIGILITY OF SIGNS ARE SIGN BRIGHTNESS, THE LEVEL OF ILLUMINATION TO WHICH THE EYE IS ADAPTED, CHARACTERISTICS OF LETTERS, AND CONTRAST DIRECTION (BLACK LETTERS ON WHITE OR VICE VERSA). THESE FACTORS WERE INVESTIGATED IN A FIELD EXPERIMENT AND A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT TO GATHER INFORMATION ON THE EFFECTS OF THESE FACTORS AND THEIR INTERRELATIONSHIPS ON LEGIBILITY. COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FACTORS WERE FOUND, AND LEGIBILITY DISTANCES FOR DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF FACTORS RANGED FROM 22 TO 92 FEET PER INCH OF LETTER HEIGHT. RELATIONSHIPS ARE DISCUSSED WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF REFLECTORIZED MATERIALS. THE STUDY IS PART OF A LARGER STUDY ON HIGHWAY SIGNS, AND FUTURE WORK WILL RELATE SIGN LEGIBILITY TO CHARACTERISTICS OF REFLECTORIZED MATERIALS. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- No 127, pp 1-14, 11 FIG, 2 TAB, 23 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Authors:
- Allen, Terrence M
- Straub, Arthur L
- Publication Date: 1956
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Pagination: 14p
- Monograph Title: Night visibility, 1955
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Bulletin
- Issue Number: 127
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Field tests; Laboratory tests; Legibility; Materials; Night visibility; Reflectorized materials; Traffic signs; Visibility
- Old TRIS Terms: Traffic sign materials
- Subject Areas: Highways; Materials; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00220378
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: HS-023 499
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Apr 21 1994 12:00AM