Evaluation of the usability of certain symbols indicating automobile lighting status

Abstract

The research presented in this document addresses the ability of drivers to understand what information has been presented by symbols that are used to indicate certain status of vehicle lights. The concept known as usability can be applied extensively to ergonomic design and testing of a wide range of products and systems, including cars. In order to assess drivers' understanding of what information is exactly presented by symbols that are used to describe the state of the lighting system of an automobile, a usability test was designed. The test included 4 symbols, three of which were ISO-approved symbols. This study of usability of symbols on a sample of drivers showed that understanding of information represented by symbols is relatively low, ranging from 41.93% to 61.29%. Certain statistical tests allow for prognosis results on a population level, using the data based on a sample. For that purpose, we used the Z-test of a sample proportion. Testing of statistical hypotheses yielded even lower values of symbols understanding at the population level, for each tested symbol. Suggestions have been made to improve the usability of this type of symbol.

Usability of Certain Symbols Indicating Automobile Safety Status Based on Youth Assessment

“…There was insufficient success in recognizing these symbols and their purpose in both of the previous studies mentioned. No symbol in [19] had a percentage of correct responses higher than 70.97%, while no symbol in [20] had a percentage of correct responses that was higher than 61.3%. Research in [16,19,20] included both ISO-verified symbols, as well as symbols that are used by certain car manufacturers.…”

“…No symbol in [19] had a percentage of correct responses higher than 70.97%, while no symbol in [20] had a percentage of correct responses that was higher than 61.3%. Research in [16,19,20] included both ISO-verified symbols, as well as symbols that are used by certain car manufacturers. As it can be noticed, refs.…”

“…No symbol in this research had a percentage of correct responses that was higher than 65%. Also, two recent studies [19,20] tested the usability of different groups of symbols indicating the lighting status of cars. The study in [19] involved symbols such as master lighting switch, exterior bulb failure, long-range lamp, and automatic headlight dimmer indicator, while the research in [20] included symbols tail light out, front fog light, headlamp leveling control, and daytime running lights.…”

“…Also, two recent studies [19,20] tested the usability of different groups of symbols indicating the lighting status of cars. The study in [19] involved symbols such as master lighting switch, exterior bulb failure, long-range lamp, and automatic headlight dimmer indicator, while the research in [20] included symbols tail light out, front fog light, headlamp leveling control, and daytime running lights. There was insufficient success in recognizing these symbols and their purpose in both of the previous studies mentioned.…”

“…As it can be noticed, refs. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] did not involve dashboard symbols indicating automobile trouble and safety status.…”