STUDY OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DIRECTIONAL AND OTHER OFFICIAL SIGNS. LABORATORY EVALUATION

This report contains the results of an evaluation of the National Standards for Directional and Other Official Signs (Part 21, Section 131(c), Title 23 United States Code). It is the second in a series of three reports. The others in the series are: (1) FHWA-RD-116, STUDY OF THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DIRECTIONAL AND OTHER OFFICIAL SIGNS, Synthesis Report, T. M. Mast, Office of Research, Federal Highway Administration; and (2) FHWA-RD-118, STUDY OF THE STANDARDS FOR DIRECTIONAL AND OTHER OFFICIAL SIGNS, Overview of Their Adequacy, J. V. Fechter, V. J. Pezoldt, J. J. Persensky and J. R. Lepkowski, Institute for Applied Technology, National Bureau of Standards. The results of two laboratory experiments conducted to assess the adequacy of public information signs are presented in this report. The findings indicate that the present standards are adequate for signs positioned near the roadway, but are suboptimal for signs located at points several hundred feet off the right-of-way. /FHWA/