pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

Investigators: PI David Hurwitz (OSU), Co-PI Michael Olsen (OSU)

Project Type: Small Project

Title of Original Research: Alternative Information Signs: An Evaluation of Driver Comprehension and Visual Attention

Research Description: Studied the evaluation of traffic sign understandability. By using a variety of online survey question approaches and driving simulation tasks they have been assessing the understandability of alternative Tourist Information signs in Oregon.

Technology Transfer: To communicate these exciting results to a broader range of traffic engineers, public agencies, and the general public at large, PacTrans has allocated additional funding to the research team for  the development and dissemination of an interactive website. The aims of the website are to

1. provide a mechanism for sharing the literature review, experimental methods, results, and findings of the project

2. to provide an interactive interface that will enable users from around the world to populate a geospatial database with images and descriptions of information signs in different contexts.

The research team has already created the beginnings of such a database as a part of the original project. However, there is significant interest from organizations like the United Nations and Travel Oregon, to continue to consider how these signs can be standardized internationally as well as how international travelers comprehend these alternative sign designs. This Tech Transfer activity will contribute to that understanding.