Abstract
Traffic guide signs are effective only when they are clearly recognized by drivers. Three experiments were conducted in this study. In the first, the influence factors of guide sign recognition were studied. This study investigated 11 main factors with a convenience sample of drivers from Nanjing city in China. Weights of different influence factors were obtained through analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The results showed that the setting position, occlusion degree, and character size of guide sign had the most significant influence on the guide sign recognition, while other factors were less important. In the second stage, an evaluation model of guide sign recognition was developed based on weights of different factors. Four equations were presented to calculate the comprehensive score of guide sign, and the level of recognition was divided into five grades according to the comprehensive score. At last, a typical case in Nanjing was studied to verify the rationality and reliability of the evaluation model. Results from the real application indicate that the method had good applicability and can be used by traffic engineers.
Highlights
Traffic signs provide important information for regulating, guiding, or warning the behaviors of drivers in order to make driving safer and easier [1]
The aim of this study is to discuss the importance of different factors and the evaluation method of guide sign recognition
The method adopted here involved questionnaires to be completed by the drivers who were selected randomly based on stratified random sampling technique
Summary
Traffic signs provide important information for regulating, guiding, or warning the behaviors of drivers in order to make driving safer and easier [1]. The guide sign is a type of traffic sign that help drivers reach their destinations conveniently, quickly, and comfortably and improve the efficiency of transportation system [2]. US Department of Transportation [3] claimed that an improvement project for traffic signs would lead to a 34% reduction in fatal accidents. If the guide signs cannot be clearly recognized by drivers, they serve little purpose. There is need for detailed research of guide sign recognition. What about the importance of different influence factors? How to evaluate the guide sign recognition? What factors can influence the recognition? What about the importance of different influence factors? How to evaluate the guide sign recognition? These questions are investigated in this study
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