Approach for Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Airport Roadway Traffic Sign System

Abstract

The airport road traffic sign system is essential for drivers to find their destinations. However, no comprehensive design standards have been established for airport roadway traffic signs in China. An airport roadway traffic sign system was designed based on the Chinese Road Traffic Signs and Markings standard (GB5768-2009), called scheme 1. A second sign system was established using international standards and following drivers’ recognition, sign information hierarchy, called scheme 2. The Airport Roadway Traffic Sign System Evaluation Method (ARTSSEM) was established to evaluate the effectiveness of the airport roadway traffic sign system. This method includes a goal layer, a method layer, an indicator layer, and a comprehensive evaluation layer. We obtained drivers’ driving behavior data from the driving simulation. The subjects drove at a lower and more stable average speed in scheme 2 (63.71 ± 3.91) than in scheme 1 (65.89 ± 4.81). An ergonomic model that considers the sign system’s information demand, information comprehension, and information volume (DCI) was established and evaluated using subjective experiments. Scheme 2 provided a higher DCI score (0.46) than scheme 1 (0.17). The performance of the sign systems was comprehensively evaluated using the fuzzy evaluation method to evaluate the driving behavior, wayfinding performance, and ergonomics of the sign system. Scheme 2 (76.13) had a higher score than scheme 1 (74.13). The results revealed that scheme 2 performed better than scheme 1. The effectiveness of ARTSSEM was verified by the case study of the Daxing Airport signage system. This study provides a general approach to designing and evaluating other sign systems.