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Decade Long Federal Test To Replace Highway Sign Font Made Legibility Worse
Jalopnik.com transportation.gov ^ | 02/04/2016 | Justin Westbrook

Posted on 02/05/2016 6:52:45 AM PST by prisoner6

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration is killing the current decade-long test of looking into replacing highway signs with a new “Clearview” font it designed and developed to be more legible because, twelve years later, it turns out the new font actually made sign legibility worse.

Back in 2004, the Federal Highway Administration approved state use of a new font ironically called “Clearview” to be the new face of highway signs around the nation. At the time, testing had “proven” that the new font was more legible to drivers, specifically at night, than the old signs featuring the “Highway Gothic” typeface.

It turns after twelve years of integrating the new font onto select highway road signs around the country, “Clearview” has been proven to not be any more legible than the old highway sign font. Not only that, but the new font is actually worse for legibility on signs with negative-contrast color schemes. That signs with dark letters on light backgrounds—you know, like SPEED LIMITS.

(Excerpt) Read more at jalopnik.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cars; clearview; driving; travel
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You can read the release from the Federal Highway Administration HERE.


1 posted on 02/05/2016 6:52:45 AM PST by prisoner6
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To: prisoner6

Your tax dollars at work.


2 posted on 02/05/2016 6:55:56 AM PST by Bubba_Leroy (The Obamanation Continues)
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To: prisoner6

Duh.

I’ve noticed this around the country, street signs are no longer reflective, no longer easily read, and the colors have changed too sometimes even with trendy graphics to the left of the text for different neighborhoods.

The civil engineers of today do not know their craft.

I also see bicycle lanes that criss-cross diagonally into the middle of traffic with painted lines when there is a right turn lane or some other typical variance.


3 posted on 02/05/2016 6:56:04 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Obama is more supportive of Iran's right to defend its territorial borders than he is of the USA's.)
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To: Bubba_Leroy

It’s like the unhealthy grains heavy food pyramid.


4 posted on 02/05/2016 6:56:35 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Obama is more supportive of Iran's right to defend its territorial borders than he is of the USA's.)
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To: prisoner6

Where the Hellertown is?


5 posted on 02/05/2016 6:57:14 AM PST by The_Media_never_lie (The Bush family needs to just go away. The Clinton family needs just to go to prison.)
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To: prisoner6

The whitespace in the old layout helps the legibility in quick glances.


6 posted on 02/05/2016 6:57:15 AM PST by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: prisoner6

Leave it up to government to spend millions and billions of dollars to make matters worse. Wonder how much they wasted on this stupidity.

Government doesn’t care about you and I, unlike what millions seem to think. Government exists for government. Stuff like this happens because bureaucracies want to extend their life and grow so bureaucratic heads can get bigger paychecks off your back.

Government is really like what Melvin Udall said: You take an enterprise and you take away REASON and ACCOUNTABILITY.


7 posted on 02/05/2016 6:59:06 AM PST by Jim W N
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To: prisoner6

Call me contrarian, but I prefer the new font.


8 posted on 02/05/2016 7:03:10 AM PST by buckalfa (I am feeling much better now.)
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To: buckalfa

Sanders idea ?


9 posted on 02/05/2016 7:05:16 AM PST by Col Frank Slade
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To: prisoner6

Stupid people can’t read anyway. Fix the schools

New font L’s are funny looking


10 posted on 02/05/2016 7:06:46 AM PST by Gasshog (Newly discovered element Trumpamentium causes a Chain Reaction of Testicular Fortitude!!)
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To: Jim 0216
Government is really like what Melvin Udall said: You take an enterprise and you take away REASON and ACCOUNTABILITY.

And give it the ability to tap into the taxpayers' wallets whenever it spends everything it has!

11 posted on 02/05/2016 7:08:09 AM PST by null and void (This war starts in the spiritual realm-it will end in ours though.)
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To: The_Media_never_lie
Where the Hellertown is?

Near Bethlehem.

12 posted on 02/05/2016 7:09:16 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Prendre cinq et rendre quatre ce n'est pas donner.)
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To: buckalfa
Call me contrarian, but I prefer the new font.

Me too. But it doesn't seem to work as well.

Go figure...

13 posted on 02/05/2016 7:09:33 AM PST by null and void (This war starts in the spiritual realm-it will end in ours though.)
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To: prisoner6
The problem is the reduced spacing between characters.
If they restored that, there would be no practical difference between the fonts.

14 posted on 02/05/2016 7:10:14 AM PST by BitWielder1 (I'd rather have Unequal Wealth than Equal Poverty.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Yes, the newer font makes the characters closer together, so at a distance the word is mushed and illegible.


15 posted on 02/05/2016 7:10:33 AM PST by PJBankard (It is the spirit of the men who leads that gains the victory. - Gen. George Patton)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Yup, that is a huge help.

Here in Pittsburgh the government did something like this a while back. IIRC the idea was to eliminate lower case because supposedly older divers couldn’t make it out.

Huge fail.


16 posted on 02/05/2016 7:11:03 AM PST by prisoner6 (Unmutual and Disharmonious)
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To: prisoner6

Should have made them in cursive...


17 posted on 02/05/2016 7:11:08 AM PST by Popman (Christ alone: My Cornerstone...)
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To: Gasshog

Which one looks better in Spanish?


18 posted on 02/05/2016 7:11:35 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Gasshog

Eh, if they want the stupid people to be able to read the signs all they need to do is use the Tattoo-Cursive font.


19 posted on 02/05/2016 7:12:51 AM PST by Justa
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To: Buckeye McFrog

20 posted on 02/05/2016 7:13:41 AM PST by nascarnation
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