Traffic Signs, Where Lacking
One area where I think usability should really be addressed, for safety's sake, is in the creation of traffic signs. Have you ever been driving in an area with which you weren't all that familiar, and you're looking for the entrance to a highway? You need to head north, and as you approach the highway, you see the entrance ramp for southbound, and sign pointing you to continue over the overpass to enter the northbound flow on the other side.
Now, the question is: which lane do you need to be in: left or right? If you're on a one-lane road, this doesn't matter, but in my experience, if you're on a two-lane road bustling with lots of traffic, you've got a problem. You're not sure if you need to turn left and go straight to merge onto northbound, or if you turn right to make a huge loop before you merge. Entrance ramps vary in design.
Some places, the signs are helpful enough to keep you informed. "Keep Left" or "Left Lane", the sign will read, so you know which lane to be in and which way you'll need to turn. But if this isn't there, and you cannot see ahead to know which lane you should be in, you might end up in wrong lane and have to cut over at the last second. This is an accident waiting to happen.
If you're already familiar with the area, then you already know and this isn't a problem you're likely to notice. This is why all engineers need perspective. I'm sure the local civil engineers worked very hard to create the signs that are there, marking the entrance ramps to highways, and they gave a lot of thought to how the sign should be placed, height-wise, and so forth, but when they took a test drive, they already knew which lane they needed to be in. They gave no thought to visitors, precisely the people who need the most help in these cases.
And even if most of the locals are able to remember which lane to be in to get on the highway on the other side, they forget. I forget, and I need to be reminded. Give me slack.
Now, the question is: which lane do you need to be in: left or right? If you're on a one-lane road, this doesn't matter, but in my experience, if you're on a two-lane road bustling with lots of traffic, you've got a problem. You're not sure if you need to turn left and go straight to merge onto northbound, or if you turn right to make a huge loop before you merge. Entrance ramps vary in design.
Some places, the signs are helpful enough to keep you informed. "Keep Left" or "Left Lane", the sign will read, so you know which lane to be in and which way you'll need to turn. But if this isn't there, and you cannot see ahead to know which lane you should be in, you might end up in wrong lane and have to cut over at the last second. This is an accident waiting to happen.
If you're already familiar with the area, then you already know and this isn't a problem you're likely to notice. This is why all engineers need perspective. I'm sure the local civil engineers worked very hard to create the signs that are there, marking the entrance ramps to highways, and they gave a lot of thought to how the sign should be placed, height-wise, and so forth, but when they took a test drive, they already knew which lane they needed to be in. They gave no thought to visitors, precisely the people who need the most help in these cases.
And even if most of the locals are able to remember which lane to be in to get on the highway on the other side, they forget. I forget, and I need to be reminded. Give me slack.