GLANCE LEGIBILITY. SYMBOL VERSUS WORD HIGHWAY SIGNS

THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE WAS TO INVESTIGATE AND COMPARE THE GLANCE LEGIBILITY OF SYMBOL AND WORD MESSAGE HIGHWAY SIGNS. TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHT SUBJECTS, INCLUDING MALE AND FEMALE DRIVERS AND NON-DRIVERS, WERE TESTED AND REPORTED. THE TEST UTILIZED MOTION PICTURE FILM SEGMENTS TO PRESENT THE SUBJECT WITH BOTH SYMBOL AND WORD TRAFFIC SIGNS, ONE AT A TIME, FOR EXPOSURE DURATIONS OF 1/3, 1/6, 1/9, AND 1/18 SECOND. AFTER EACH EXPOSURE, THE SUBJECT WAS ASKED TO MATCH THE TEST SIGN TO A SIMILAR SIGN, ONE OF NINE SHOWN ON A FOLLOWING FILM SEGMENT, AND THE ACCURACY OF THE MATCH WAS RECORDED. THE SUBJECTS WERE ALSO ASKED TO INTERPRET THE MEANING OF EIGHTEEN UNFAMILIAR SYMBOL HIGHWAY SIGNS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT SYMBOL SIGNS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE IN TRANSMITTING A MESSAGE THAN ARE WORD SIGNS. THE RESULTS ALSO INDICATE THAT ANY CHANGE-OVER FROM A WORD SYSTEM TO A SYMBOL SYSTEM SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO FAMILIARIZE DRIVERS WITH THE MEANINGS OF THE SYMBOL SIGNS. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 14 Pp, Tabs, FIGS REFS
• Corporate Authors:

  West Virginia University, Morgantown

  Morgantown, WV  United States  26506
• Authors:
  • King, L Ellis
  • Tierney, W J
• Publication Date: 1970

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Coding systems; Computer programming languages; Drivers; Legibility; Reaction time; Road markings; Symbols; Traffic signs
• Uncontrolled Terms: Driver reaction
• Old TRIS Terms: Word markings
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225961
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 16 1971 12:00AM