An Analysis of Understanding of Traffic Signs among Drivers and Pedestrians in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sep 18, 2026

This research quantifies drivers’ and pedestrians’ understanding of traffic signs in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A survey collected responses from 634 drivers (inside and outside Dhaka) and 508 pedestrians (within Dhaka city). Among 1,142 total respondents, 863 were male and 279 were female. Multiple-choice questions presented the picture attached to each sign, and participant attributes such as gender, age, education, and driving or job experience were recorded. Drivers achieved 68.68% overall understanding, while pedestrians reached 64.5%, indicating a medium level for drivers and support for targeted education efforts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Study area

Literature review

Survey form

Results and Discussion

Conclusion

[https://doi.org/10.3311/PPtr.18672](https://doi.org/10.3311/PPtr.18672) Creative Commons Attribution b |361 Periodica Polytechnica Transportation Engineering, 50(4), pp. 361–368, 2022 An Analysis of Understanding of Traffic Signs among Drivers and Pedestrians in Dhaka, Bangladesh S. M. Masum Ahmed1*, Mohammad Zeyad2, S. M. Maruf Ahmed3 1 Faculty of Engineering, University of Mons (UMONS), Bd Dolez 31, 7000 Mons, Belgium 2 School of Science & Technology, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thermi, Thessaloniki, P.O. B. 141, Greece 3 Department of Civil Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), 1704 Gazipur, P.O. B. 1704, Bangladesh * Corresponding author, e-mail: [SMMasum.AHMED@student. umons.ac.be](SMMasum.AHMED@student. umons.ac.be)[ ](SMMasum.AHMED@student. umons.ac.be)[Received: 29 May 2021](Received: 29 May 2021), Accepted: 04 June 2022, Published online: 15 June 2022 Abstract This research demonstrates the percentage of drivers and pedestrians understanding the traffic sign in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The survey was conducted among 634 drivers inside and outside of Dhaka city. Moreover, 508 pedestrians participated in the survey within Dhaka city. In comparison, there were 863 male respondents and 279 female respondents among 1142 respondents. The survey took the form of multiple-choice questions that included the picture attached to each sign. However, the survey questionnaires included a few questions regarding driver gender, age, educational qualification, and driving experience. Similarly, the survey questionnaires for pedestrians had also been discussed questions regarding pedestrian gender, age, educational qualification, and job status. The overall traffic sign understanding of drivers was 68.68% . Moreover, the comprehensive traffic signs understanding of pedestrians was 64.5% . The findings showed that the drivers had a medium degree of understanding of the traffic sign’s meaning. However, the study results showed that efforts are needed to educate the drivers and pedestrians about the proper interpretation and reaction to traffic signals. Keywords survey questionnaire, traffic signs, age, gender 1 Introduction The transportation system is one of the essential components of an urban settlement's socioeconomic and physical structure. However, a well-planned transport network not only gives people mobility opportunities but also affects acity's growth trend and level of economic activity. In addition, traffic signals are one of the essential facts for drivers and pedestrians. Moreover, drivers and pedestrians need to understand traffic signs to avoid an accident on the road. Therefore, traffic control devices (TCDs)– signals and markings are crucial for the transportation system. Roadway TCDs include traffic signs, pavement markings, and traffic lights. Traffic signs are the most common and have been around the oldest of the three kinds of TCDs presently inuse. Understanding the traffic signal is essential for the enforcement of traffic regulations for citizens and necessary for their road safety. Therefore, traffic signals are commonly used as the oldest and most widely used instruments for traffic control. Besides, road markings are used for driver's and pedestrian traffic guidance. Road markings provide advice and information to the driver about the roadway. Traffic signs not only guide road users but also convey messages to them. However, the traffic signs can be ineffective if drivers or pedestrians do not understand the encoded messages from the traffic signs. Furthermore, the American National Standard Institute (ANSI Z535.3-2011) and the International Standardization Organization (ISO 3864-1:2011) recommend that symbols must meet a level of at least 85% or 67%, respectively, in a comprehension test to be satisfactory (Razzak and Hasan, 2010). In transportation engineering, traffic signs are one of the most important research topics for researchers. Actually, this r

FAQs

How was traffic sign understanding measured for drivers and pedestrians in Dhaka?

Understanding was assessed using a survey with multiple-choice questions where each item included the picture attached to the traffic sign.

What were the overall understanding percentages for drivers and pedestrians?

Drivers showed an overall traffic sign understanding of 68.68%, while pedestrians had 64.5% comprehensive understanding.

Which factors were captured in the questionnaire besides responses to traffic signs?

For drivers, the questionnaire included questions on gender, age, educational qualification, and driving experience; for pedestrians, it covered gender, age, educational qualification, and job status.

Sep 18, 2026

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