Vertical road signage and the effect of their visibility on traffic safety

As in the world, the number of traffic accidents in Turkey is increasing with the increasing number of vehicles. Many researches are being carried out both nationally and internationally on preventing traffic accidents, reducing losses and developing solutions. There is a certain system and order in traffic. Road and traffic signs define a visual language that can be interpreted by road users within this system. These signs indicate the current traffic situation on the road, show drivers the dangers and difficulties around them, and make driving safer and easier by providing drivers with various warnings and useful information. However, human visual perception abilities also depend on the physical and mental state of the individual. Under certain conditions, these abilities can be affected by many factors such as fatigue and observation skills. Therefore, the effectiveness of vertical traffic signs depends not only on their correct design and placement, but also on their correct perception, especially by drivers. In this study, a survey was conducted to examine some vertical traffic signs on a road route in Şanlıurfa province and their contribution to safer driving in traffic. A face-to-face survey was applied to 480 people using this road route. The analyses investigated how road user behavior varies according to factors such as rule-following patterns, safe route following and effectiveness of vertical signs, use of GPS or navigation, and missing or inadequate vertical signs. Levene' s test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Welch' s test and post hoc tests were used to examine the relationship between vertical signs and road user behavior. The results of the study revealed how different traffic signs are perceived by road users and the effects of these perceptions on traffic safety.