TRUCK DRIVERS' SUGGESTIONS AND PREFERENCES FOR INSTRUMENT PANEL SYMBOLS

Ideas and preferences for symbols to label truck controls and displays were collected in two experiments. In the first, 31 tractor-semitrailer drivers were interviewed at a truck stop near Detroit, Michigan. They drew pictures representing 18 functions: cab lock down, dump load, engine oil temperature, engine oil filter, brake fluid level, air pressure, retarder, air filter, loading light, axle lift, gearbox malfunction, winch, power take off, trailer connection/lock-up, engine stop, fuel shutoff, differential lock, and third (interaxle) differential lock. From those drawings and manufacturers' suggestions 125 candidate symbols were developed. In the second experiment, 33 other truck drivers at a restaurant and at a truck depot in the Detroit area ranked those candidates, by function, from best to worst. The rankings identified some candidates as not being meaningful and others as being worthy of testing on an international scale.

• Corporate Authors:

  Highway Safety Research Institute

  Huron Parkway and Baxter Road
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48109
• Authors:
  • Gingold, M
  • Shteingart, S
  • Green, P
• Publication Date: 1981-6

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
• Pagination: 100 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Ergonomics; Instrument panels; Interviewing; Symbols; Truck drivers; Trucks
• Subject Areas: Highways; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00367964
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: UM-HSRI-81-30 Final Rpt., HS-033 244
• Contract Numbers: 5T01-OH-00161-09
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 30 1982 12:00AM