Psychological specificity of the representation of vandalism of traffic signs in Russian megalopolises

Abstract

Vandalism of traffic signs is a phenomenon that arose in the 20th century and is not only in the stage of its formation, but also has no comprehensive scientific justification today, both from the standpoint of the determinants of occurrence, and from the point of view of its likely consequences for society. Vandal damage of traffic signs is varied – from tagging and sticking with stickers, to deformation of the sign or its dismantling and theft. At the same time, in the works of researchers, a decrease in the ability of a vandal-damaged sign to effectively regulate traffic is noted, which can lead to potentially dangerous situations on the road. Despite the significance of the problem, empirical studies of vandalism of traffic signs were carried out mainly in the United States, the experience of which cannot be extrapolated to Russian reality due to cultural, economic and social reasons. Thus, the purpose of the study presented in the article was to identify the specifics of vandalism of traffic signs in the conditions of Russian megalopolises. In the period of 2021, empirical material was collected using the method of photographing vandally damaged traffic signs in three megalopolises of the Russian Federation (Vladivostok, Ekaterinburg, St. Petersburg), carried out as part of the route photographing of vandal transformations of the urban environment. For the analysis, 63 images of vandal-damaged traffic signs were selected, which were later evaluated by experts. It was found that the most frequently vandalized information signs and signs of additional information, which have a white background and a rectangular shape, acting as an actual "canvas" for vandals. Tagging and pasting with stickers (70.4% and 59.2% of cases of vandal damaged signs, respectively) become typical damage to signs. The study of vandalism of traffic signs, its causes, the degree of threat to road safety, the possibility of preventing illegitimate transformations requires additional research, which is especially relevant with the growing trend towards vandal transformation of road signs in the modern conditions of Russian megalopolises. The study was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 17-18-01278).