This study was designed to compare the recall of road signs after two different delays. Three conditions were evaluated: a game crossing sign, a speed limit sign, and a control condition with no sign. Either immediately after passing a road sign or 670 m downstream, subjects in the sign condition were asked a question about the last road sign. The results showed that subjects recalled the speed limit sign regardless of the delay, but the recall of the game crossing sign decreased substantially when the inquiry was delayed. In both conditions, the other traffic in the vicinity decreased the recall percentage by more than half. The implications of this study are that the recall delay affects especially the recall of a road sign of subjectively minor importance and that a careful consideration of other traffic during the experiment is essential.
Samenvatting