Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship between driver’s cultures and their comprehension of road signs and behavior. Ninety individuals from three English-speaking countries (30 each from India, the U.S., and the U.K.) participated in this research to perform a road sign comprehension test, give rankings for road sign design features, and complete a Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ). The results show some significant correlations between Hofstede’s cultural dimension scores and participant responses. For example, better comprehension of road signs is associated with lower power distance (PDI) scores, and higher individualism (IDV) and motivation towards achievement and success (MAS) scores. More aberrant driver behaviors are associated with higher scores of IDV, MAS, long-term orientation (LTO), and indulgence (IND) but with lower scores of PDI and uncertainty avoidance (UAI). These findings show the importance of considering cultural factors in traffic studies on road signs and driver behavior.

Keywords

Hofstede’s cultural dimensions road signs comprehension driver behavior questionnaire driver performance sign design features

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ben-Bassat

Shinar

Caird

Dewar

Lehtonen

Sinclair

Zakowska

Simmons

Liberman

Pronin

(2021). Ergonomic design improves cross-cultural road sign comprehension. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 78, 267–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2021.01.015

Hofstede

(1984). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values (Vol. 5). SAGE.

Hofstede

(2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1014

Kline

T. J. B.

Ghali

L. M.

Kline

D. W.

Brown

(1990). Visibility distance of highway signs among young, middle-aged, and older observers: Icons are better than text. Human Factors, 32(5), 609–619. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872089003200508

Melinder

(2007). Socio-cultural characteristics of high versus low risk societies regarding road traffic safety. Safety Science, 45(3), 397–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2006.07.004

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2025, April). National Center for Statistics and Analysis. Traffic safety facts 2022: A compilation of motor vehicle traffic crash data (Report No. DOT HS 813 656). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813656

A. W.

Chan

A. H.

(2007). The guessability of traffic signs: Effects of prospective-user factors and sign design features. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(6), 1245–1257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2007.03.018

Özkan

Lajunen

(2007). The role of personality, culture, and economy in unintentional fatalities: An aggregated level analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(3), 519–530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.12.020

Liu

(2012). Effects of sign design features and training on comprehension of traffic signs in Taiwanese and Vietnamese user groups. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 42(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2011.08.009

10.

Reason

Manstead

Stradling

Baxter

Campbell

(1990). Errors and violations on the roads: A real distinction?. Ergonomics, 33(10–11), 1315–1332. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139008925335

11.

Shinar

Dewar

R. E.

Summala

Zakowska

(2003). Traffic sign symbol comprehension: A cross-cultural study. Ergonomics, 46(15), 1549–1565. https://doi.org/10.1080/0014013032000121615

12.

United Nations. (2003). United Nations Publication. Convention on road signs and signals, done at Vienna on 8 November 1968 (R2003). https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/conventn/Conv_road_signs_2006v_EN.pdf.

13.

U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. (2023). International Visitation to and from the United States. https://www.trade.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/International-Visitation-to-the-United-States.pdf

14.

U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. (2022). Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (Revision 2022). https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/kno_2009r1r2r3.htm

Cultural Dimensions And Driver Behaviour: A Study Of Three English-Speaking Populations

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References