Effects of Drivers' Age on the Comprehension of a Pedestrian Right-of-Way Warning Sign

A survey was done on driver comprehension of a Turning Traffic Must Yield to Pedestrians sign among different drivers' age groups during left-turn and right-turn maneuvers. Four age categories were included: young-young, middle-young, middle-old, and old-old. The sign was comprehended clearly by all age groups for the right-turn scenario. For the left-turn situation, younger drivers (under 56 years) comprehended or paid more attention to the sign than older drivers (over 55 years). This might be due to the difference in the perception of drivers to the presence of pedestrians during left- and right-turn movements. During right-turn movements, drivers and pedestrians always are in interaction, unless drivers are provided with the rarely used exclusive right-turn phase. On the other hand, left-turn movements usually are provided with an exclusive or permitted phase or a combination of both. This might lead to a general perception among drivers that pedestrians are not allowed to cross during a left-turn maneuver and that the driver has the right-of-way. It is recommended that the sign be included in FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.