The influence of backplate design on railway signal conspicuity

摘要

Experimental trials were conducted to investigate the effects of railway signal backplate design on driver responses, using an impoverished computer simulation. Measures were time taken/viewing distance to see the signal and then to identify the signal aspect. Subjective data were also collected regarding how easy/difficult it was to identify the approaching signal. The results of 43 professional train drivers showed that signal backplate size had a significant effect on driver responses tested. A signal with a backplate of at least 150% of the current standard size resulted in significantly faster response times (thus could be identified at a greater distance) when compared with the current operational signal. The majority of the 14 signal bacltplate shapes tested performed as well as the current standard design. The addition of a white backplate border reduced performance for signal recognition.