Clearview: Revisiting the Safety Benefits of this Long-Used Sign Font

The research team will evaluate the safety, visibility, and operational implications of the Clearview typeface compared with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Standard Alphabets under contemporary roadway, vehicle, and sign-material conditions. The research team will review prior research, national practices, and the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) historical use of Clearview to identify remaining knowledge gaps and determine the most relevant fonts, sign types, and test conditions for further evaluation. The research team will conduct a safety and mobility investigation using surrogate measures at selected field sites to assess operational effects associated with Clearview installations. The research team will conduct a human-subjects driving simulator study to quantify legibility, recognition, comprehension, and visual-workload differences between Clearview and alternative fonts under controlled but realistic driving conditions. The research team will conduct a complementary Visibility Laboratory study to evaluate the effects of font, retroreflective sheeting, headlamp type, glare, and luminance on nighttime legibility performance.

• Record URL:
  • https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/project=0-7290

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $573,636.50
• Contract Numbers:

  0-7290

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Managing Organizations:

  Texas Department of Transportation

  125 E. 11th Street
  Austin, TX  United States  78701-2483
• Project Managers:

  Odell, Wade

• Performing Organizations:

  Texas A&M Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System
  3135 TAMU
  College Station, TX  United States  77843-3135
• Principal Investigators:

  Carlson, Paul

• Start Date: 20260901
• Expected Completion Date: 20281031
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Driving simulators; Legibility; Lettering; Night visibility; Reflective signs; Retroreflectivity; Traffic safety; Traffic signs; Visibility
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02002050
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Texas Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: 0-7290
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Sep 14 2026 4:19PM