Verbal reaction times to identify and to classify 20 traffic sign messages were measured under three conditions-sign alone, sign plus visual loading task, and sign plus visual loading task plus visual distraction. Similar trends were found in the three experiments: reaction times were smaller for the classification task than for the identification task, smaller for warning than for regulatory signs, and smaller for verbal than for symbolic messages. Comparison of these reaction time data with on-the-road measures of legibility distance revealed significant correlations. The correlational data add credibility to laboratory measures of reaction times as valid indices of traffic sign perception.