DO PICTOGRAM SIGNS INCREASE SAFETY AT PASSIVE CROSSINGS? A SIMULATOR EXPERIMENT

The advanced driving simulator at the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) was used to test the hypothesis that the new train pictogram signage at passive crossings would be a more effective means of inducing appropriate driver response than the traditional signage. Twenty-one fully licensed drivers aged 24 to 50 were randomly allocated to each of three groups: New signage with train pictogram sign on both the left and right sides of the road (New-dual), New signage with train pictogram sign on the left side of the road only (New-left only), and the Traditional signage group (Traditional). This paper reports on some preliminary observations from the data. Both the traditional signage and the new signage evaluated here were effective within the virtual simulation environment in inducing reductions in speed and increased visual scanning behaviour in the immediate vicinity of railway level crossings. Inspection of the data suggests that the new signage was no more effective, with a couple of exceptions, in reducing speed and in inducing greater scanning in both directions than the traditional signage. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E207956.