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Knowledge Mushohwe
Getting lost on South Africa’s complex road network is easy, but it is just as simple to realise that one is lost, and getting back on track is well directed by roadside visuals. Traffic signs inform, regulate, warn and guide road-users within a traffic system.Like some art compositions such as comics and editorial cartoons, information that makes up traffic signs comprises both visual symbols and text.

Though there are a number of traffic sign characteristics that determine success or failure of their effective communication, complexity, concreteness, familiarity, semantic distance and meaningfulness are central to understanding roadside icons.

Icon complexity is characterised by detailed or intricate compositions, and concreteness in road signs depict images of real objects, people or materials as opposed to abstract renditions that are made up solely of symbols such as shapes, lines and other vectors.

Familiarity in roadside icons is defined in terms of their link to real-life elements within the community in which they are displayed.

Semantic measures the closeness of the relationship between what is depicted in an icon and the function it is intended to represent.

Meaningfulness refers to the degree by which traffic signs are read and understood by road users.

Meaningfulness of a sign depends on its familiarity and associated imagery, which refers to the ability with which the sign can elicit a meaning in one’s mind.

There is a significant relationship between traffic sign familiarity and semantic closeness as frequency of encounters with a sign has the ability to enhance its perceived semantic closeness.

Familiarity with signs is significantly shaped by experience.

As a child’s vocabulary and intellect grows with age, they come to appropriate the standard, culture-based standard frequency acceptable and understood by those around them.

This process takes time, and drivers go through the same painstaking progression but with experience, signs become more easily comprehensible.

Traffic signs are made up of vectors, directional forces, visual cues that are placed in such a way that, when viewed by road users, eyes are led from one point to another or to some directional orientation, inside or outside the frame.

Two types of vectors – graphic and index – can be found in traffic signs.

Graphic vectors are lines or objects leading one’s attention from one object to another, while index vectors are  created  by  something or someone pointing or looking in a specific direction, such as sharp curve ahead signs.

A sub-group determining if index vectors’ general direction continue, converge or diverge may be identified.

Continuing vectors are when at least two signs or icons look or point in the same direction, such as the signs to indicate that there are two or more carriageways ahead.

Converging vectors are index vectors facing each other and are best illustrated by signs to show that the road ahead is narrowing.

Converging vectors can contribute to closure or enable conflict to be heightened.

Traffic signs are the ultimate guides for drivers anywhere as they negotiate their way from point A to B.

Unfortunately for drivers on Zimbabwean roads, driving is made a lot harder by the general lack of roadside information.

Today, most traffic signs are vandalised, rusty or just unreadable as a result of one reason or the other.

Travelling on highways, one is never sure of how much distance is left before reaching their destination because markers are rare.

In cities, stop signs, pedestrian crossing signs and other informative insignia are only found in limited areas.

Zinara or whoever else is responsible for road administration in the country is certainly short-changing road users by depriving them of road information.

Driving in South Africa has its benefits, not only because the roads are smooth and wide, but also because every few metres are punctuated by relevant information meant for road users.

Getting lost on South Africa’s complex road network is easy, but it is just as simple to realise that one is lost, and getting back on track is well directed by roadside visuals.

How difficult is it to intersperse Zimbabwe’s roads with simple icons that reassure road users that they are on the right track or crucially, tell that something needs to change for them to safely negotiate their way to the desired destination?

Luminous paint and some metal boards and supporting poles can’t be that expensive.

When road users are travelling from Harare to Mutare for example, they expect to find 20 kilometre interval information signs on how far they have travelled and how far they are from the next five or so towns.

Zimbabweans are driving around in roads that give them very little clues about where they are coming from, where they are and where they are going.

Erection of signs is just as important as patching up potholes or resurfacing road because they give road users information relevant for safe travel.

Vandalism may be an issue, but negligence epitomised by rustiness all around show there is little regard by those responsible to use the levies collected from road users to make roads accessible and user-friendly.