Static signs are an important and accepted part of our roads and highways. Without them, many drivers would speed with total abandon and little concern for what other drivers were doing. But they have many restrictions so far as traffic calming. The largest limitation, which is also a speed limit sign’s largest strength, is familiarity.
All drivers recognize speed limit signs as official. The signs are standard government traffic signs, meeting the government standards for road signs. They understand that they can be ticketed for speeding once they surpass the number that’s posted. This familiarity helps drivers.
It also sadly suggests that the signs become such a familiar part of the roadside that many folks no longer “see” them. They notice them, customarily, but the signs don’t truly command their attention. That makes it simple to remember that the speed limit is 35 but creep up to 40 or 45 without too much notice. On the road, the 55 or 60 miles per hour speeds are simple to overlook while drivers hit speeds of 70 or higher. This over-familiarity with static speed limit signs can make it easier to surpass posted limits.
A road sign that does something, on the other hand—lighting up, flashing, displaying a message or graphic—will draw a driver’s attention and put the speed limit and the environment back into his mind. Research has demonstrated that having your speed displayed back to you as you drive will always lead you to slow down even if you are not going over the limit.
The beauty of driver feedback signs of this nature is that regardless of if they become familiar, they do not cause the same over-familiarity since the signs themselves change continually. They have an inclination to keep drivers alert longer, even if they drive the same stretch of road day after day.
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