Bilingual Variable Message Signs: A Study of Information Presentation and Driver Distraction

Jamson, Samantha L; Tate, H C Neil; Jamson, A Hamish · 2001 · Crossref

DOI: 10.17077/drivingassessment.1027

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Summary

This study investigates the impact of bilingual Variable Message Signs (VMS) on driver behavior and safety, specifically addressing the lack of empirical research on how visual distraction from bilingual signage affects driving performance. Motivated by the requirement for Welsh and English to be treated equally in Welsh legislation, the research evaluates whether different VMS configurations (length and complexity) compromise safety. The study compares monolingual and bilingual drivers’ responses to signs with varying line counts and language arrangements to determine if bilingual signs induce greater distraction than their monolingual counterparts. The researchers conducted a driving simulator experiment with 24 participants, equally divided between monolingual (English) and bilingual (English/Welsh) drivers. Participants drove a 30 km motorway route twice: once following a lead car at a constant speed (low workload) and once following a lead car with variable speed (high workload). The experimental design included traffic-related and instructional messages displayed on VMS with one, two, or four lines of text. Data collection focused on mean speed, speed variation, lateral position, headway to the lead vehicle, and subjective mental workload measured via the NASA-TLX questionnaire. Results indicated that while high-workload conditions significantly increased mental demand and effort, there were no significant differences in driving performance between monolingual and bilingual drivers. Drivers reduced their mean speed when reading signs, but this effect was specific to sign complexity rather than language. Significant speed reductions occurred only for four-line signs; two-line signs did not cause comparable deceleration. Crucially, four-line bilingual signs (two lines per language) produced speed reductions similar to two-line monolingual signs, rather than four-line monolingual signs. This suggests drivers processed bilingual signs as if they were shorter, simpler messages. Furthermore, the arrangement of languages on four-line signs had no effect on speed or headway, and drivers’ ability to maintain safe following distances was not disrupted by the need to read the signs. The study concludes that four-line bilingual VMS signs do not pose a significant safety risk. Because drivers read these signs in a manner approximating two-line monolingual signs, the associated speed changes are minimal (typically less than 1.5 mph) and unlikely to disrupt traffic flow except at high densities. The findings support the deployment of bilingual VMS on Welsh motorways, indicating that the visual distraction associated with bilingual configurations does not significantly impair driving performance or safety for either monolingual or bilingual drivers.

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-09; verification: verified.

Topics

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• external distraction
• signage environment

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data