Citation

Costa M, Bonetti L, Vignali V, Lantieri C, Simone A. Ergonomics 2018; 61(12): 1619-1634.

Affiliation

Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Material Engineering , University of Bologna , Viale Risorgimento 2 , I-40136 Bologna , Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00140139.2018.1508756

PMID

30106344

Abstract

The role of peripheral vision in road sign identification and discrimination was investigated in two studies. Peripheral vision plays an important role in road signs perception due to their lateral positioning. In the first study 20 participants identified road signs presented at five levels of horizontal eccentricity (1.1°-12.4°), and two levels of vertical eccentricity (0°-2.5°). In the second study road sign discrimination was tested in a same-different discrimination task. The first study showed that a vertical offset of 2.5° degraded proportion correct rate by 9%. Proportion correct decreased from 79% to 41% in the transition from 1.1° to 12.4° of horizontal offset. The second study showed an accurate discrimination for road signs presented within a horizontal offset of 6.4°. Road signs with angular shapes and prominent vertexes as triangular or cross signs were better identified in peripheral vision than signs with a more compact shape (circular signs). Practitioner Summary: Vertical road signs, due to their lateral positioning, are often perceived in peripheral vision. Horizontal and vertical eccentricity negatively impact the driver's ability to correctly identify and discriminate traffic signs. The use of singular shapes, and a design with simple pictograms and large contrasting areas strongly facilitate road sign perception in peripheral vision.

Language: en

Keywords

perception; peripheral vision; road signs; shape recognition; transport ergonomics