A COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT WAYS OF INCREASING TRAFFIC SIGN CONSPICUITY

A number of treatments for making signs more conspicuous were compared in a laboratory experiment. Three involved placing the sign on a plain square backing board (three colours were tested: black, light grey and yellow) and a fourth used a larger version of the sign having the same area as the basic sign plus backing board. Slides showing the signs against three backgrounds were projected on a screen for fixed time periods of between 100 and 250 msecs. Subjects were required to locate the signs while performing a continuous steering task. The most effective overall treatment was the use of a yellow backing board. This and the grey board were about equally good against foliage and grey was only marginally inferior against a street scene with potentially distracting coloured detail. However, against a background with high luminance contrast, tree trunks seen against a bright sky, the yellow board was markedly superior to any of the other treatments. It is concluded that the contrast between backing board and background is a more important factor in determnning conspicuity than sign size. (a)

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/02665247
• Corporate Authors:

  Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)

  Wokingham, Berkshire  United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Cooper, B R
• Publication Date: 1988

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 8 p.
• Serial:
  • TRRL RESEARCH REPORT
  • Publisher: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
  • ISSN: 0266-5247

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Color; Perception; Simulation; Traffic signs; Visibility; Yellow
• ITRD Terms: 6784: Colour; 2229: Perception; 9103: Simulation; 553: Traffic sign; 6783: Visibility; 9092: Yellow
• Subject Areas: Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00499000
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: RR 157
• Files: ITRD, TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 30 1990 12:00AM