| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 548442 | Applied Ergonomics | 2013 | 8 Pages |
Driver distraction and safety concerns have been identified for new highway logo sign configurations. This study assessed driver perception of logo signs and distraction under nine-panel, overflow-combination, or standard six-panel formats. A nine-panel sign has nine business panels within a single sign; a six-panel sign has six panels within a sign; an overflow-combination consists of a standard six-panel sign and a six-panel sign displaying two different services (e.g., food and gas). In this study, twenty-four participants searched for target food business logos while driving in a high-fidelity driving simulation under each signage condition. Gas and lodging signs were also displayed along the road in conventional six-panel formats. Dependent variables included signal detection, visual attention allocation, and vehicle control measures. Experiment results showed nine-panel signs drew greater visual attention and produced lower average speed than overflow-combination signs, and produced a lower speeding percentage compared to six-panel signs. However, there was no evidence the new configurations (nine-panel and overflow) caused substantive performance changes with safety implications. This study suggested the use of nine-panel and overflow-combination logo signs may be suitable for interchanges where there are more than six qualifying businesses in a category in terms of driver performance and safety.
► This study addresses driver distraction concerns identified for new highway logo sign format. ► Nine-panel signs drew greater visual attention and produced lower speed than overflow signs. ► The off-road attention to the new sign formats did not cause substantive changes in performance. ► Nine-panel signs led to conservative driving style compared to standard six-panel signs.
