Assessment of Mexican Driver Understanding of Existing Traffic Control Devices Used in Texas (1274-1)

The Texas-Mexico border area possesses many unique characteristics that could potentially reduce the effectiveness of traffic control devices used in these areas. This report describes the results from the first year of a three-year research project on the use of traffic control devices in Texas border areas. The first year was devoted to information gathering and an assessment of traffic control device understanding among drivers entering Texas from Mexico. Key first-year tasks included gathering information from pertinent literature and telephone interviews and conducting surveys of driver comprehension of existing traffic control devices. The surveys used a flashcard format and were administered to drivers on international bridges going from Mexico to Texas. In general, the results indicate that Mexican drivers understand most of the traffic control devices included in the survey. Devices that were found to exhibit a potential for improvement include: the Yield sign, the use of yellow in pavement markings to distinguish two-way traffic, hazardous cargo signing, some aspects of truck weight signs, the difference between yellow and orange signs, understanding of specific signs, and the proper driving response to school buses.