In this study two versions of sixteen different traffic signs were compared on recognisability. One version was the standard "painted" traffic sign, the other version was its electronic counterpart, namely a Variable Message Sign (VMS). These signs were statically presented to 107 subjects from a stratfied sample representing the average Dutch road user. Results showed that the large majority of subjects recognised the VMS as an alternative to the standard painted sign. Subjects were also acquainted with the meaning of the signs, especially if the more implicit required behavioural adaptations that signs have are regarded as a correct meaning. However, with respect to the subjective appraisal in terms of good/bad, legibility, clearness, and pleasantness, the VMS is rated more negatively than the standard painted sign. Many of the subjects preferred the painted signs to the VMS. (A)
Abstract