The purpose of this study was to ascertain, from the drivers point of view, the relative importance of colour and shape in the recognition of road signs. Highway signs are a combination of three symbols - shape, colour, and legend. The presumption is that the combined use of these three symbols will result in greater driver consciousness of signs and reaction to them at distances where the work message alone could not be perceived. The very fact that different colours and shapes are used in signing implies that highway engineers make a number of assumptions regarding driver awareness and reaction to the symbolic meanings that shape and colour are expected to convey. This study sought to determine the degree to which drivers recognize the meaning of sign shapes and colours. Secondly it sought to determine whether shape, colour, and message, when combined, contributed to or decreased driver comprehension of sign meaning. Specifically, no assumptions were made concerning the possible utility of any of the three variables in an ideal setting, that is, when colours and shapes were confined to usage of a singular nature. Rather, the approach was to test drivers on existing signing practices and to determine the current state of the art. /author/.
Abstract