Re-usability of traffic signs for inactive drivers with consideration of personal characteristics and sign features

نویسندگان

1 Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

2 Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

doi
10.7508/ijhcum.2016.01.001
چکیده

There has been an increasing concern about inactive drivers who would easily lead to road accidents and fatalities once return to driving. This study investigated the re-usability of traffic signs for inactive drivers with consideration of driver factors and cognitive sign features. Fifty-seven Hong Kong Chinese, who possessed a full driving license but had not driven for an extended period, comprehended the meanings and rated the cognitive features of 21 traffic signs. The re-usability performance of participants who had not driven for at least a year was similar to those who had not been driving since obtaining driving license. The re-usability of traffic signs was better when the signs were familiar, concrete, simple and meaningful. To improve sign re-usability, designers should consider the cognitive sign features, provide direct and unambiguous visualization for underlying concepts, make better use of eye-catching design elements, and proper juxtaposition of similar pictorials in sign design.