Effect of Driver Age and Distance Guide Sign Format on Driver Attention Allocation and Performance

摘要

Although several studies have assessed the effect of business logo sign format on driver visual attentionand performance, some concern has been expressed that findings may not be generalizable to other signageconfigurations. We conducted a driving simulation study to assess the effect of distance guide sign formaton visual attention allocation, target detection accuracy, and driving performance considering driverdemographics. Results revealed distance guide sign format, including random or distance-orderedpresentation of destinations, to have no impact on driver visual attention, target identification, and vehiclecontrol. However, elderly drivers had difficulty in identifying targets when destinations were presented inrandom order. In addition, elderly drivers exhibited conservative responses (i.e., reduced off-road visualattention and greater speed reductions) as compared to other age groups when exposed to distance guidesigns. Findings support design guidance for on-road signage to account for driver demographics.