Dysfunctional Impulsiveness and Violations of Social Norms as Important Variables of Comprehensibility of Non-Standard and Non-Typical Road Sings by Polish Drivers

Antoni Wontorczyk; Magdalena Brzegowa-Gubała; Stanisław Gaca

doi:10.18290/pepsi-2026-0009

Published : 2026-06-30

Vol. 32 No. 1 (2026)

Dysfunctional Impulsiveness and Violations of Social Norms as Important Variables of Comprehensibility of Non-Standard and Non-Typical Road Sings by Polish Drivers

Antoni Wontorczyk

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2580-0285

Magdalena Brzegowa-Gubała

Stanisław Gaca

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1757-6984

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/pepsi-2026-0009

Abstract

Road safety is one of the most important challenges facing modern civilization. In recent decades, loss of life as a result of road traffic has been one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This makes the social mission of integrating the main elements of the road traffic system in such a way as to make it safe a modern necessity. Interdisciplinary research on improving road safety should therefore cover not only humans (drivers) but also other road users, the road and its surroundings, and increasingly sophisticated intelligent vehicles. In this article, we present the results of research on drivers’ understanding of non-standard road and environmental signs. Non-standard signs are now widely used around the world to improve traffic organization and increase safety. However, there is still little research on the extent to which these signs actually improve traffic flow, thereby increasing safety, and whether they are comprehensible to drivers. Research has shown that unusual signage is more comprehensible when it contains only symbolic elements rather than a combination of symbolic and textual elements. Unlike symbolic and textual signs, symbolic signs are also better understood by drivers with personality traits associated with dysfunctional impulsivity and a tendency to break social norms.

Keywords:

comprehensibility traffic signs, impulsivity, non-standard signs, tendency to break social norms

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Wontorczyk, A., Brzegowa-Gubała, M., & Gaca, S. (2026). Dysfunctional Impulsiveness and Violations of Social Norms as Important Variables of Comprehensibility of Non-Standard and Non-Typical Road Sings by Polish Drivers. Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration, 32(1), 277–308. https://doi.org/10.18290/pepsi-2026-0009

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