Assessment of hazard warning signs used on New Zealand roads

This study, carried out in 2004 at the Traffic and Road Safety Research Laboratory, University of Waikato, assessed driver reactions to 16 road hazard warning signs of various formats. A range of measures, including attentional and search conspicuity, implicit and explicit recognition, dynamic and static comprehension, and sign priming were collected for hazard warning signs for road works, schools, slippery surfaces and curves. Conclusions are presented about the effectiveness of hazard warning signs, and the method for evaluating new and existing hazard warning signs used on New Zealand roads. (a)

[1]  G L Ullman,et al.  SPEED ZONING AND CONTROL. FINAL REPORT , 1987 .

[2]  Hashim M. N. Al-Madani,et al.  Assessment of drivers' comprehension of traffic signs based on their traffic, personal and social characteristics , 2002 .

[3]  Daniel S Turner,et al.  OPERATIONAL AND SAFETY EFFECTS OF DRIVING ON PAVED SHOULDERS IN TEXAS , 1981 .

[4]  Samuel G. Charlton,et al.  Human factors of overtaking lane design: simulator data and research findings , 2001 .

[5]  K Rumar,et al.  Drivers and road signs: a preliminary investigation of the capacity of car drivers to get information from road signs. , 1966, Ergonomics.

[6]  Robert E. Dewar.  The Slash Obscures the Symbol on Prohibitive Traffic Signs , 1976 .

[7]  Henry K. Evans,et al.  Traffic engineering handbook , 1950 .

[8]  Juha Luoma,et al.  Distraction due to variable speed limits , 1999 .

[9]  Leslie A. Whitaker,et al.  Response Times to Left and Right Directional Signs , 1981 .

[10]  Thomas J Triggs,et al.  PERCEPTUAL COUNTERMEASURES: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH , 1999 .

[11]  J R Treat,et al.  TRI-LEVEL STUDY OF THE CAUSES OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS: FINAL REPORT , 1979 .

[12]  Stephen H Richards,et al.  MOTORIST UNDERSTANDING OF RAILROAD-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AND ASSOCIATED TRAFFIC LAWS , 1988 .

[13]  G Johansson,et al.  Drivers and road signs. , 1970, Ergonomics.

[14]  Peter A. Hancock,et al.  The distraction effects of phone use during a crucial driving maneuver. , 2003 .

[15]  B R Cooper.  COMPREHENSION OF TRAFFIC SIGNS BY DRIVERS AND NON-DRIVERS , 1989 .

[16]  M. A. Recarte,et al.  Perception of speed in an automobile: Estimation and production , 1996 .

[17]  J Carson,et al.  The effect of ice warning signs on ice-accident frequencies and severities. , 2001, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[18]  L Zakowska.  PERCEPTION AND RECOGNITION OF TRAFFIC SIGNS IN RELATION TO DRIVERS CHARACTERISTICS AND SAFETY - A CASE STUDY IN POLAND , 2001 .

[19]  Srivatsan Srinivasan,et al.  Influence of Exposure Duration on the Effectiveness of Changeable-Message Signs in Controlling Vehicle Speeds at Work Zones , 1998 .

[20]  A. Mackie,et al.  Progress in learning the meanings of symbolic traffic signs , 1967 .

[21]  J E Sanderson.  DRIVER RECALL OF ROADSIDE SIGNS , 1974 .

[22]  Pirkko Rämä,et al.  Effects of weather-controlled variable message signing on driver behaviour , 2001 .

[23]  Anders Böök,et al.  Road‐sign utility as judged by drivers with different amounts of driving experience , 1993 .

[24]  E. Reed.  The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception , 1989 .

[25]  L. Whitaker,et al.  Verbal Response Times to Directional Traffic Signs Embedded in Photographic Street Scenes , 1984, Human factors.

[26]  B L Cole,et al.  What attracts attention when driving? , 1986, Ergonomics.

[27]  R. Dewar,et al.  Reaction Time as an Index of Traffic Sign Perception , 1976, Human factors.

[28]  Nick Hounsell,et al.  Driver response to variable message sign information in London , 2002 .

[29]  H. Summala,et al.  Drivers' immediate responses to traffic signs. , 1984, Ergonomics.

[30]  Deborah Donald.  MAKING TRAFFIC SIGNS WORK: AN OVERVIEW OF DESIGN AND TESTING PROCEDURES. , 1995 .

[31]  S Salvatore,et al.  The Estimation of Vehicular Velocity as a Function of Visual Stimulation , 1968, Human factors.

[32]  A J McKnight,et al.  The effect of cellular phone use upon driver attention. , 1993, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[33]  Robert E. Dewar,et al.  Rapid Comprehension of Verbal and Symbolic Traffic Sign Messages , 1979 .

[34]  Robert Dewar,et al.  Warning: Hazardous Road Signs Ahead , 1993 .

[35]  H Alm,et al.  The effects of a mobile telephone task on driver behaviour in a car following situation. , 1995, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[36]  D Shinar,et al.  Sign Registration in Daytime and Nighttime Driving , 1983, Human factors.

[37]  Alan W. Johnston,et al.  VISIBILITY OF ALPHABETIC AND SYMBOLIC TRAFFIC SIGNS. , 1975 .

[38]  Rahim F Benekohal,et al.  SPEED REDUCTION EFFECTS OF CHANGEABLE MESSAGE SIGNS IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE. PROJECT REPORT , 1992 .

[39]  A H Wheeler,et al.  VEHICLE-ACTIVATED SIGNS - A LARGE SCALE EVALUATION , 2003 .

[40]  H Al-Madani.  Influence of drivers' comprehension of posted signs on their safety related characteristics. , 2000, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[41]  Nicholas J Garber,et al.  EFFECTIVENESS OF CHANGEABLE MESSAGE SIGNS IN CONTROLLING VEHICLE SPEEDS IN WORK ZONES. FINAL REPORT , 1994 .

[42]  Geoffrey Underwood,et al.  THE PRIMING FUNCTION OF ROAD SIGNS , 2001 .

[43]  P. K. Hughes,et al.  A Field Trial of Attention and Search Conspicuity , 1984 .

[44]  Robert E. Dewar.  CRITERIA FOR THE DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF TRAFFIC SIGN SYMBOLS , 1988 .

[45]  Donald W. Kline,et al.  SYMBOL SIGNING DESIGN FOR OLDER DRIVERS , 1997 .

[46]  H G Hawkins,et al.  INNOVATIVE TRAFFIC CONTROL TECHNOLOGY AND PRACTICE IN EUROPE , 1999 .

[47]  D. F. Reed,et al.  Effectiveness of a Lighted, Animated Deer Crossing Sign , 1975 .

[48]  E. Hoffmann,et al.  Drivers' awareness of traffic sign information , 1991 .

[49]  Nikiforos Stamatiadis,et al.  Development of Accident Reduction Factors , 1996 .

[50]  R. Ratcliff,et al.  A retrieval theory of priming in memory. , 1988, Psychological review.

[51]  W F Osmers.  THE EFFECT ON VEHICLE SPEEDS OF ELECTRONICALLY-SIGNED PART-TIME SPEED LIMITS OUTSIDE SCHOOLS , 2001 .

[52]  David Shinar,et al.  THE EFFECTS OF ROADWAY ENVIRONMENT AND FATIGUE ON SIGN PERCEPTION , 1982 .

[53]  J L Gattis.  Cross Traffic Signing for Stop Signs , 1996 .

[54]  S. Charlton.  Restricting intersection visibility to reduce approach speeds. , 2003, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[55]  Risto Kulmala,et al.  Effects of variable message signs for slippery road conditions on driving speed and headways , 2000 .

[56]  Lindsay I Griffin,et al.  A Review of Two Innovative Pavement Marking Patterns that have been Developed to Reduce Traffic Speeds and Crashes , 1995 .

[57]  Richard A. Retting,et al.  Influence of Experimental Pavement Markings on Urban Freeway Exit-Ramp Traffic Speeds , 2000 .

[58]  G J Wilde,et al.  Field observation of advance warning/advisory signage for passive railway crossings with restricted lateral sightline visibility: an experimental investigation. , 1995, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[59]  Samuel G Charlton.  Perceptual and attentional effects on drivers' speed selection at curves. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[60]  Michael J. Goodman,et al.  The role of driver inattention in crashes: new statistics from the 1995 crashworthiness data system , 1996 .

[61]  Dennis Kroeger,et al.  Methods to Reduce Traffic Speed in High-Pedestrian Rural Areas , 2003 .

[62]  F Jørgensen,et al.  Optimal use of warning signs in traffic. , 1999, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[63]  Karel Brookhuis,et al.  Behavioural adaptation of drivers to warning and tutoring messages: results from an on-the-road and simulator test , 1997 .

[64]  Brian N. Fildes,et al.  PERCEPTUAL COUNTERMEASURES: LITERATURE REVIEW , 1994 .

[65]  Barry L. Cole,et al.  SEARCH AND ATTENTION CONSPICUITY OF ROAD TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES , 1984 .

[66]  Thomas J Triggs,et al.  Driving simulator validation for speed research. , 2002, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[67]  D Donald.  BE WARNED! A REVIEW OF CURVE WARNING SIGNS AND CURVE ADVISORY SPEEDS , 1997 .

[68]  James Fisher,et al.  Testing the Effect of Road Traffic Signs′ Informational Value on Driver Behavior , 1992 .

[69]  Malgorzata J. Rys,et al.  Evaluations of a new Advance Flagger traffic sign , 1999 .

[70]  Douglas W Harwood,et al.  IDENTIFICATION, QUANTIFICATION AND STRUCTURING OF TWO-LANE RURAL HIGHWAY SAFETY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS. VOLUME I--TECHNICAL REPORT. FINAL REPORT , 1983 .

[71]  Transportation Officials,et al.  A policy on geometric design of highways and streets, 1984 , 1984 .

[72]  Tonya L Smith-Jackson,et al.  Research-based guidelines for warning design and evaluation. , 2002, Applied ergonomics.

[73]  S D Leonard,et al.  Age Differences in Perception of Risk , 1992, Perceptual and motor skills.

[74]  L E King,et al.  RECOGNITION OF SYMBOL AND WORD TRAFFIC SIGNS , 1975 .

[75]  Marieke Hendrikje Martens.  Assessing road sign perception : A methodological review , 2000 .

[76]  J R Jarvis,et al.  YELLOW BAR MARKINGS: THEIR DESIGN AND EFFECT ON DRIVER BEHAVIOUR . 15TH ARRB CONEFRENCE, DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY, 26-31 AUGUST 1990; PROCEEDINGS PARTS 1 TO 7 , 1990 .

[77]  R L Knoblauch,et al.  MOTORISTS' COMPREHENSION OF REGULATORY, WARNING, AND SYMBOL SIGNS. FINAL REPORT. VOLUME I: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY , 1987 .

[78]  Mashrur Chowdhury,et al.  ARE THE CRITERIA FOR SETTING ADVISORY SPEEDS ON CURVES STILL RELEVANT , 1998 .

[79]  Staniša Milošević,et al.  Presentation factors and driver characteristics affecting road-sign registration , 1986 .