Analyzing the impact of human characteristics on the comprehensibility of road traffic signs

Abstract

Traffic safety is one of major challenges facing most communities worldwide. To improve traffic safety, regulating traffic movement through markings, signs, channelization, and others is essential. Traffic signs are used either to regulate road user movements by highlighting priorities or to inform road users about traffic regulations and traffic conditions. In general, traffic signs are essential element in road operation. Thus, understanding these signs by road users is of prime importance for efficient and safe traffic operations. This study investigates the comprehensiveness of traffic signs by drivers and the impact of driver characteristics gender, nationality, age, language, and educational level. Clarifying the correlation between the understanding of traffic signs and driver characteristics will yield to recommendations and help in identifying proper countermeasures to enhance the communities' knowledge of traffic signs and consequently improve traffic safety level. The study used an electronic survey as a research instrument for data collection. The results have shown significant impact of some of human characteristics on their ability to recognize the metal-plate and electronic traffic signals. IEOM Society International.