A controlled field study was conducted to evaluate recently developed work zone channelization panels. Two designs were considered: the first showed an orange diamond on a white backaround; the other a white diamond on an orange field. Test subjects viewed the orange and the white diamond panel designs and made judgments concerning the legibility, effectiveness and acceptability of the panels. Twenty test subjects viewed the panels during the day, and twenty observed at night. The orange diamond desian was more legible than the white diamond design under both day and night viewinct conditions. It was also preferred to the white diamond design. The new designs were well accepted by the test subjects. Over half the subjects rated the diamond designs either 'highly satisfactory' or 'superior'. At a distance, the panel designs were seen in terms of basic shapes - circles, squares and lines. Fine pattern details were not resolved. The implication is that traffic control devices should show large, bold patterns. Also, the distant appearance should be considered even during the early developmental stages of a traffic control device. (Author/publisher)
Abstract