Theeuwes Advies studies how people perceive their surroundings, process information and make decisions. We combine scientific expertise with applied consulting and experimental research, particularly in traffic, safety and visual communication.
Prof. Jan Theeuwes is Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and an internationally recognised researcher in visual attention and perception.
Drawing on decades of scientific research and expertise in Human Factors, he helps organisations analyse complex questions involving human behaviour, road safety, information design and system design. He combines fundamental research insights with an independent, practical perspective.
Read an interview with Prof. Theeuwes in the Dutch professional magazine De Psycholoog; or view his academic CV. You can also view his international CV with a complete publication list (PDF). Learn more about the research at Theeuweslab.com.
Sometimes a scientifically grounded analysis is the best approach. In other cases, an experiment is needed to test the effects of a design or intervention.
For many assignments, Theeuwes Advies collaborates with other specialists, including Berno Bucker (Attention Architects) and Michel Lambers (Adviesdienst Mens en Veiligheid). Depending on the project, assignments are undertaken independently or collaboratively.
Evaluating products, traffic situations and information systems from the perspective of human perception, attention and decision-making.
Empirically testing how people see, understand and use information, and whether an intervention actually works.
In addition to behaviour and performance, eye movements can reveal where attention is directed. Eye tracking shows which parts of a scene people look at and how their viewing patterns change.
The video demonstrates how eye tracking can be used during a drive to visualise attention and gaze behaviour.
A selection of traffic-related and other consulting and research projects. Select a project to learn more.
Advice on how objects along motorways affect visual attention and road safety.
Research and advice on how roadside objects, advertisements and other visual elements can attract or hold drivers’ attention. The work examines when information unrelated to driving creates a distraction and which features matter for the safe design of roadside environments. Insights from visual-attention research contributed to Rijkswaterstaat’s guidance for assessing objects along motorways and other roads.
Analysis of motorcycle crashes in relation to driver behaviour and road design.
A large number of motorcyclists were involved in crashes at Kooimeerplein. Initially, poor skid resistance of the road surface was suspected. The behavioural analysis instead identified a major role for road design: drivers entering the junction found themselves in an unexpected position. Sudden steering and braking corrections then created dangerous situations and crashes.
Human Factors assessment of diverging diamond interchange designs.
Analysis of how easily drivers understand the road layout, lane choices and traffic information, with particular attention to expectations at this less familiar type of interchange.
Human Factors assessment of the design and cross-sections of the First Heinenoord Tunnel.
Assessment of tunnel design from the road user’s perspective, focusing on lane arrangement, available space, visibility and road safety.
Assessment of the criteria and conditions for safe tunnel design using Human Factors expertise.
Evaluation of a tunnel design from a Human Factors perspective, paying particular attention to factors that can contribute to incidents. The assessment covered driver behaviour throughout the tunnel’s zone of influence: inside the tunnel, upstream while approaching it, and downstream while preparing to leave it.
Jan Theeuwes served as an external adviser in the preparation of this report.
Assessment of how clearly a new toll sign communicates its message.
The key practical question was whether road users recognise from the sign that they must pay a toll to use the road.
Advice on how easily road users understand Frisian text on road signs.
Assessment of how the use of Frisian on road signs affects the recognition and processing of traffic information.
Advice on complex road infrastructure design from the road user’s perspective.
Evaluation of design and traffic-engineering issues, focusing on driver expectations, recognisability, decision points and task demands.
Research into whether particular types of bicycle lighting actually improve safety.
The assessment focused on visibility and the relationship between lighting design and road safety.
Advice on wind turbine placement and potential driver distraction.
Wind turbines beside motorways may visually distract drivers through rotating blades and moving shadows. Whether this creates a road safety risk depends largely on the demands of driving at that location. Additional visual distraction can be particularly undesirable in complex situations such as interchanges and motorway entrances and exits.
Study of how well approximately 500 participants understood low-emission zone signs.
The study examined whether road users correctly interpreted the meaning and implications of the signs.
Study of whether emotionally framed messages affect driving speed.
The experiment tested whether messages that appeal to emotions encourage drivers to slow down when approaching roadworks.
Read the report: Evaluation of the “Welcome to My Workplace” Pilot (Rijkswaterstaat)
Practical test of evacuation behaviour and the time available to escape.
The study examined whether people could carry out the necessary actions in time during an emergency and use a safe escape route.
Research into glare caused by large illuminated arrows on roadwork vehicles.
Assessment of whether vehicle-mounted lighting and warning signs can adversely affect perception and driver behaviour.
Testing alternative designs for signs indicating emergency stopping bays.
The study investigated which sign design most clearly communicates the purpose of an emergency stopping bay.
Assessment of light-coloured pavement as an element of tunnel design.
Advice on the role of road surface colour and other visual features in drivers’ perception and orientation inside tunnels.
Advice on making tunnel signs clear and recognisable.
A new sign was developed (right) to make clear that an exit follows the tunnel. The sign on the left was the original proposal.
Together with other specialists, we developed ten practical rules for Rijkswaterstaat to better accommodate road users when designing roads and traffic information.
For Rijkswaterstaat, we translated research on attention, perception, information processing and road-user behaviour into practical design principles. Working with other Dutch specialists, we examined the limits of road users’ capabilities, their expectations, and their responses to road layouts and traffic information. The ten rules emphasise, among other things, that drivers cannot process everything at once, information should be relevant and easy to understand, and road systems must allow for human error. Rijkswaterstaat published the brochure in 2008.
Read the brochure: Ten Golden Rules (Rijkswaterstaat, PDF) ↗
Road design that immediately communicates what drivers can expect.
Together with colleague Godthelp, we developed the concept of Self-Explaining Roads: roads that explain themselves. A consistent, recognisable design allows road users to understand immediately what to expect and how to behave. The concept has been adopted widely around the world and is now an important principle in road safety design.
Research into which road features influence drivers’ speed choices.
Experimental research into the relationship between road features and the speed drivers choose.
Further information on the influence of road design on speed choice:
Research into the relationship between disruptive glare and driving behaviour.
A TNO study examining how glare may impair drivers’ vision and affect driving performance.
Scientific publication: Relation Between Glare and Driving Performance (ResearchGate)
How do drivers know which speed limit applies, and how clear are the signs?
A user study investigated how motorists determine the applicable speed limit on Dutch motorways, how well they understand speed limit signs and how clear they find them. An online assessment involving Dutch, Belgian, German and British respondents examined knowledge, experiences and potential behavioural effects of speed limit information.
Read the report: User Study on Speed Limits (Rijkswaterstaat)
Reanalysis of Swedish accident statistics on daytime vehicle lighting.
In the early 1990s, the Dutch government considered making daytime vehicle lighting compulsory. Swedish crash statistics were said to show a dramatic reduction in accidents. Together with colleague Riemersma, we reanalysed those data. Conclusion: no demonstrable effect. Our research contributed to the decision not to introduce the measure in the Netherlands.
Read our original article in Verkeerskunde (May 1990) (PDF).
Online study of road users’ understanding of when a cycle path or carriageway must be used.
An online study of 953 representative road users examined how well cyclists, e-bike riders and moped riders understand the rules associated with road signs G11, G12a and G13.
Sign G12a (cycle/moped path) was better understood than the traditional G11 sign, whereas most road users misinterpreted G13.
Across vehicle categories, participants also expressed a strong preference for using the cycle path rather than the road.
Expert advice on visual perception and signal detection in a professional disciplinary case.
In disciplinary proceedings concerning a tumour that was not detected on a mammogram, Theeuwes Advies provided expertise on visual perception, signal detection and decision-making. The disciplinary tribunal dismissed the allegations against both radiologists, in part on the basis of this expert advice.
Research into the clarity and effectiveness of a laser beam used as a closure signal.
Experimental assessment of a visual signal used to indicate a waterway closure.
Research into when people consider a banknote too dirty to accept.
Public evaluations of soiled banknotes, investigating how much visible contamination people will accept in practice.
Read the report: What is a Fit Banknote? The Dutch Public Responds (De Nederlandsche Bank)
Comparative study of the comprehensibility of waste-sorting pictograms.
Waste-sorting pictograms were empirically tested for recognition and comprehensibility.
Research report: Testing Colour–Name Pictograms for Waste Separation, VU Amsterdam (May 2017, PDF, 5.9 MB) ↗
Research into the recognition of brand imagery, including Adidas and H&M.
Theeuwes Advies conducted experimental research into the recognition of stripe patterns on clothing and advised H&M in its long-running trademark dispute with Adidas. After 25 years, the case was resolved in H&M’s favour. The Court of Appeal ruled that H&M had not infringed Adidas’s three-stripe trademark.
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