LUMINANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ILLUMINATED SIGNS

VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF BLACK AND WHITE LETTERS AND BACKGROUNDS WERE NIGHT-TESTED IN THE FIELD, USING AN INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SIGN, TO COLLECT DATA ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGN LUMINANCE AND LEGIBILITY OVER A WIDE RANGE OF AMBIENT LIGHTING CONDITIONS. OBSERVERS IN THREE AGE GROUPS WERE PRETESTED FOR VISUAL ACUITY AND DAYLIGHT SIGN LEGIBILITY BEFORE THE NIGHT TESTS. CONTRAST LEVEL AND DIRECTION WERE CONTROLLED, AND THE SIGN LEGEND AND BACKGROUND LUMINANCE WERE MONITORED PHOTOMETRICALLY. MINIMUM AND OPTIMUM BRIGHTNESS VALUES OVER A SIGN FACE ARE SUGGESTED FOR TYPICAL RURAL, SUBURBAN, AND URBAN AMBIENT ILLUMINATION CONDITIONS.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1967/179/179-002.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Paper sponsored by Committee on Night Visibility and presented at the 46th Annual Meeting. 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.
• Authors:
  • Allen, T M
  • Dyer, F N
  • Smith, G M
  • Janson, M H
• Publication Date: 1967

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 16-37
• Monograph Title: Night visibility
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 179
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Brightness; Data collection; Design; Field tests; Illuminated traffic signs; Legibility; Lighting; Night visibility; Optimization; Traffic signs
• Old TRIS Terms: Control conditions; Optimum design
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219873
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-000 708
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 5 1994 12:00AM