Usability of Certain Symbols Indicating Automobile Safety Status Based on Youth Assessment

Abstract

The research presented in this paper refers to the possibility to understand the information presented by symbols, which indicate safety status and possible troubles regarding automobiles and driving. The testing included sixteen symbols, six of which were ISO-verified and recommended symbols. The study included 204 youth respondents. The study used a multidisciplinary, ergonomic approach, based on research of the usability of symbols. The basic task of subjects was to recognize the symbols and to rate their confidence on the five-point scale that they gave exact answers. For each symbol, hypotheses about the proportion of correct answers at the population level were tested, applying the inferential statistics technique. The ISO criterion of 67% successful symbol recognition was adopted as the limit value for the justification of the use of symbols. The test results showed that eight out of sixteen symbols did not meet this criterion. The results of this research indicate that it is necessary to take certain measures in order to improve the understanding of the function of symbols on vehicle dashboards. One of the proposed measures consists in the improvement of training courses in driving schools, which from a theoretical but also a practical aspect should include education about symbols on car dashboards, primarily those responsible for informing about the safety status. In addition, a redesign of the symbols that had the lowest recognition rate can be recommended.