

The research revealed that when the upper/lowercase Clearview-Condensed (condensed) is compared to the most commonly used all-capital-letter typeface (FHWA Series D), there was a 14 percent increase in recognition when viewed by older drivers at night, with no loss of legibility.
Clearview font driver#
With Clearview-Bold, the desired destination legend is recognized 1.3 seconds earlier (84 feet) and with greater accuracy, giving the driver significantly more time to react to the information displayed.īy allowing a viewer to read the unique footprint of the word when displayed in upper/lowercase letters, there is an increase in accuracy, viewing distance, and reaction time. On a road with a posted speed of 45 mph, a driver is traveling at 66 feet per second. For drivers traveling at 45 mph, that legibility enhancement could easily translate into 80 extra feet of reading distance, or a substantial 1.2 seconds of additional reading time. In two PTI studies intended for conventional road guide signs, use of an early version of the Clearview Bold improved nighttime sign reading distance by up to 16 percent when compared with the E-modified road sign typeface. The initial research on Clearview was conducted at the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. (Gene HawkinsĪnd Paul Carlson FHWA/TX-02/4049-1 Evaluation of Clearview Alphabet with Microprismatic Microprismatic sheeting Types VII, VIII, or IX - TTI study. Legibility for overhead and shoulder-mounted guide signs using ASTM D4956 Research Record 1605, TRB, National Research Council, Washington, DC, 1997, Of Font and Capitalization on Legibility of Guide Signs. Size - two PTI studies (Garvey, P.M., M.T. Series D letters and Clearview-Condensed with little change in overall sign In recognition by older drivers for equal size footprint for SHS Alphabet This research information can be accessed via the MUTCD website ( ). Transportation Institute (PTI) and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI). Halation of words displayed on high brightness retroreflective materials forĭrivers with reduced contrast sensitivity.Ĭontrast Clearview legends for guide signs has been researched by the Pennsylvania Letters designed for highway sign applications,Īccuracy of destination recognition and the legibility distance of word messages, Recognition by using mixed case words of the same size composed of lower case The capital letter height and the overall length and height of word messages Word messages to accommodate the needs of older drivers without increasing This research development effort resulted in final design of Clearview font letters in 2003.Ĭlearview font letters were developed specifically to address four issues with the legibility of SHS alphabets.


The goal of the Clearview font was to increase legibility and reduce halation of highway sign legends in comparison to that of Standard Highway Signs (SHS) Alphabets (Highway Gothic font). : The Clearview font was developed through a decade of research starting in the early 1990s. Purpose: The purpose of this memorandum is to issue an Interim Approval for the optional use of the Clearview font for positive contrast legends on guide signs. MUTCD - Interim Approval for Use of Clearview Font for Positive Contrast Legends on Guide Signsĭirector, Office of Transportation Operations
Clearview font manual#
FHWA - MUTCD - Interim Approval for Use of Clearview Font for Positive Contrast Legends on Guide Signs Interim Approval - Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
