Research On Elements Selection And Mode Of Displaying Of Traffic Signs In Tourist City

The function of road sign is to provide drivers with information regarding places, direction and distance, insuring the drivers to achieve their destinations efficiently. If the sign cannot provide information effectively, it will cause driving distraction. Thus, the utility of road sign directly influence the road situation and driving safety. However, little research had paid attention on this issue.The current study conducted a series of experiments to investigate the choice of elements and displaying method of road sign to provide suggestions to the designing of road signs in tourist cities.The current research consisted of four experiments: Experiment 1: data were collected to understand what the drivers'opinions about the most important elements in road signs via subjective-report questionnaires. Experiment 2: we added the elements on the modified road sign based on the data obtained in Experiment 1 and compared the modified road sign with the original road sign regarding cognitive performance; Experiment 3: based on findings from Experiment 2, we learned that after adding elements, the new sign will cause driving distraction and decrease the safety in driving. Thus, it is necessary to change the displaying methods of elements on road sign to decrease the distractions. This experiment therefore compared two displaying modes: temporal-separate displaying and spatial-separate displaying. Experiment 4: based on the findings of experiment 3, we further modified the displaying methods using color highlight to improve the research safety.The main findings of the current research:1, the most important elements in the current road signs of tourist city are Name of road, Name of place and Distance. However, the current used elements can not fulfill the drivers'need when driving in tourist city. Also, it is necessary to add Name of tourist spots, Service facilities of transportation and the Distance to the tourist spots. 2, When the number of elements increased, the cognitive workload would be overly heavy and caused driving distraction;3, when the elements were too many, it could be suggested that road signs adopted temporal seperated dispalying mode;4, using color highlight displaying mode could elevate the cognitive performance of the drivers. Moreover, when the highlighting method was consistent between the two separated road signs, the cognitive performance of drivers were maximized.The difference between the current and the previous research:1, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to analysis the utility of road signs in tourists'cities;2, attempt to make a systematic research on the elements of the selection and presentation of the traffic signs in China's tourist cities;3, proposed some design recommendations of the traffic signs in the tourist city.