Determining the Impact of Gender and Age on Drivers’ Acceptance of Graphic-aided Portable Changeable Message Signs in Highway Work Zones

Graphic-aided portable changeable message sign (PCMS) is an innovative temporary traffic control device that has been proven in recent studies to improve drivers’ response more effectively than the traditional text-based PCMSs. This study investigated the impact of drivers’ gender and age on their acceptance of using graphic-aided PCMSs in highway work zones. A total of 429 driver surveys were conducted in a real world highway work zone traffic condition under three graphic-aided PCMSs with different settings. Chi-square tests of independence were used to determine the relationship between drivers’ gender and age and their preferences to message format. The results revealed that drivers’ gender and age did not have a significant impact on their preferences to message format. The results also suggested that the majority of drivers preferred to see the warning messages displayed on PCMSs in the graphic-aided format instead of the traditional text format in highway work zones. This study provided valuable knowledge to government agencies and the transportation industry on the use graphic-aided PCMSs in highway work zones.