The Influence of Road Marking and Sign Visibility on Driver Reaction Time: A Systematic Review

The visibility of road markings and traffic signs affects drivers’ ability to react in time to the information provided by the road infrastructure. This systematic review, carried out according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, looked at how the visibility of markings and signs affects a driver’s reaction time and then how this impacts vehicle dynamics, accident risk, and the reliability of ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems—systems that help drivers). The search was completed by following citations, also known as snowballing. Articles from journals with peer review or full conference papers were eligible, provided they included a few explicitly identified normative sources that addressed the visibility of markings and signs, driver perception, or the performance of ADAS. A total of 114 studies (field measurements, simulator experiments, laboratory studies, accident data analysis, and reviews) were grouped into four thematic areas. Poor visibility, especially at night and in bad weather conditions, has greatly reduced the amount of visual information available to both drivers and the ADAS sensors. This decline spread, to varying degrees of certainty, across the vehicle’s dynamics and accidents. The main limitations were the varied definitions of reaction time and the small number of validated cross-study investigations. In conclusion, ADAS should be tested in realistic visibility conditions, including faded markings, rain, and glare.