This literature study deals with the importance of road signs and carriageway markings on road safety. Placing of signs and markings, positions, combinations and frequency are considered. Recent research concerns to some extent the design of traffic information relative to the driving task and strategy and capacity to process information. The driving task is divided into different levels: (1) the micro-level: steering and keeping to correct speed. (2) the situation-level: road environment adaptation and traffic interaction. (3) the macro-level: navigation. To these levels correspond different information demands. Demand on the micro-level should from safety aspects be given priority over other demands and demand on the situation-level over the macro-level. Traffic information is on the first level mainly given through traffic-line marking, on the second through warning, directional and prohibition signs and on the third through direction boards. The driver's comprehension of information depends on his perception capacity, his expectations and experience.
Abstract