{"id":7838,"date":"2015-08-12T10:36:04","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T14:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=7838"},"modified":"2026-02-10T07:44:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:44:26","slug":"age-impacts-drivers-reaction-time-signage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myparkingsign.com/blog\/age-impacts-drivers-reaction-time-signage\/","title":{"rendered":"Age impacts drivers’ reaction time to signage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes abound when it comes to the age of drivers: young drivers are inexperienced and careless, while old drivers lack reflexes. But there are very real implications for age and at least one factor relating to road safety: reaction time when reading road signage. Does age impact whether a driver understands a road sign, and how long it takes them to do so? Researchers Tamar Ben-Bassat and David Shinar endeavored to figure out just that in their recently released study, \u201cThe effect of context and drivers\u2019 age on highway traffic signs comprehension.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A study shows that reaction time to street signs slows down as we age. Researchers suggest interventions that will help safety. Image from Nicolas Alejandro Street Photography<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sign comprehension is integral to road safety. (Case in point: Have you happened driven upon any of these drivers\u2019-nightmare puzzles<\/a> before?) If drivers can\u2019t understand a sign, how can they obey it? As the researchers put it, \u201cTraffic signs are common and important means for controlling traffic and improving traffic safety\u2026 But road signs comprehension is not that obvious.\u201d It\u2019s so not \u201cobvious\u201d that the U.S. Department of Transportation \u201cput an emphasis on human factors testing of road signs legibility distance and comprehension\u201d during the sign design process.<\/p>\n

Other studies have revealed that sign comprehension varies among different kinds of road signs, “with some signs even interpreted\u201d as being \u201copposite to their intended meaning.” Design is a factor, as is the driver’s age, gender and education, but these human factors haven’t been well studied.<\/p>\n

For the study, researchers targeted 100 participants from two age groups: 50 young participants (30 males and 20 females) ranging in age from 23 to 30 years, and 50 older participants (30 males and 20 females) aged 65\u201391 years. (The young participants were undergrads at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and the older participants were a sample of active drivers from several retirement communities in Israel). The researchers presented 28 road signs, to young and older drivers in context and without it, and tested the impact of drivers’ age and sign context on how accurately they understood the signs. They also tested how much time it took them to respond.<\/p>\n

The results? Younger drivers performed significantly better than older drivers on both of the tests. While context had no impact on either group’s comprehension, it did increase response time. Four key recommendations from the researchers include:<\/p>\n