This paper investigates the relationship between comprehension probability of highway signs and the extent to which they comply with three ergonomic principles of design: sign-content compatibility, familiarity and standardization. In the study, student participants were presented with 30 signs and asked to describe each sign's meaning. The signs included warning signs, regulatory signs and information signs. They then evaluated each sign in terms of each of three ergonomic principles. A group of human factors/ergonomics experts also evaluated each sign on its standardization and compatibility. Findings showed high correlations between the ratings of the student participants and the ratings of the experts on compatibility and on standardization, validating the use of the students' evaluations of the signs on these variables. There was a great variability in comprehension, but high correlations between the comprehension level of each sign and the extent to which it complied with the ergonomic design principles.
Abstract