DESIGN OF REFLECTORIZED MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSE PLATES
THE INVESTIGATIONS DESCRIBED REVEAL THE BASIC FACTORS CONCERNING THE LEGIBILITY OF REFLECTORIZED LICENSE PLATES AND EACH OF THESE COMPONENTS IS EVALUATED FOR AN OPTIMUM PLATE DESIGN. DESIGN CRITERIA ARE PRESCRIBED FOR REFLECTORIZED LICENSE PLATES WHICH WILL PROVIDE MAXIMUM LEGIBILITY, BOTH DAY AND NIGHT, UNDER ACTUAL TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. THE FACTORS GIVEN EXTENSIVE ANALYSIS WERE (1) THE VARIOUS TYPES OF REFLECTIVE MATERIALS, (2) THE EFFECTS OF REFLECTORIZING THE LEGEND, THE BACKGROUND, OR BOTH PORTIONS OF THE PLATE, (3) CONTRAST DIRECTION, (4) THICKNESS OF STROKE, (5) CHARACTER SPACING, (6) USE OF PLATE BORDERS, AND (7) VARIOUS COLOR COMBINATIONS. NINETY-SEVEN SPECIMEN LICENSE PLATES OF VARIOUS DESIGNS WERE VIEWED BY 30 OBSERVERS WITH A SPECIALLY DESIGNED APPARATUS WHICH SIMULATED ACTUAL NIGHTIME DRIVING CONDITIONS. THE DATA WERE ANALYZED STATISTICALLY TO DETERMINE THE RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VARIABLES. THE CONCLUSIONS PRESENTED PROVIDE THE NECESSARY FACTUAL INFORMATION FOR THE DESIGN OF A REFLECTORIZED LICENSE PLATE OF MAXIMUM LEGIBILITY. /AUTHOR/
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Supplemental Notes:
- Vol 39, pp 441-466, 14 FIG, 8 TAB, 15 PHOT, 17 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:
- Herrington, C G
- Publication Date: 1960
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Thirty-Ninth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board, Washington, D.C., January 11-15, 1960
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Serial:
- Highway Research Board Proceedings
- Volume: 39
- Publisher: Highway Research Board
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Color; Design; Legibility; License plates; Motor vehicles; Reflectorized materials; Spacing
- Uncontrolled Terms: Design criteria
- Old TRIS Terms: Reflectorization
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00226023
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS, TRB
- Created Date: Aug 23 1971 12:00AM