Rapid Comprehension of Verbal and Symbolic Traffic Sign Messages

Abstract

A “same”-“different” reaction time procedure was used in two experiments to measure the times required to comprehend the meanings of projected slides of traffic signs. The results indicated that signs with symbolic messages could be understood more quickly than those with verbal messages. Visually degrading the signs resulted in a greater decrement in performance for verbal than for symbolic signs. Correlational analyses demonstrated reaction time to correlate significantly with a previously obtained measure of sign legibility taken from a moving motor vehicle on a roadway. The utility of reaction time as an index of traffic sign adequacy is discussed along with some possible practical implications of the research.