## 1 Introduction  
Traffic signs are the most frequent visual aids to communicate information about traffic laws and regulations, serving as reminder, direction, or warning [1]. According to [PERSON] et al. [2], a well-designed traffic sign is one that complies with a certain need, draws the road user's attention, and conveys a clear message in a clear and simple manner, giving the user enough time to respond correctly. Furthermore, the design of traffic signs should allow users to comprehend the correct information precisely and effectively to avoid conflicts or accidents in a changing traffic environment [3]. The ability to comprehend traffic signs is considered a major contributor to road safety, the failure of which could lead to more problematic issues [4]. Aside from road safety, pedestrian safety is also becoming a global concern because of the unprotected nature of pedestrians. Although roads are usually shared by both pedestrians and vehicles, often less consideration is given to pedestrian safety comparedto the ease of movement of vehicles and driver safety. Therefore, pedestrians are also susceptible to severe injuries and fatalities from crashes [5]. Thus, there is a need to improve road and pedestrian safety through effective communication of traffic sign messages to increase traffic sign comprehension. The lack of traffic comprehension has resulted in some associated risks which have become a major concern in many countries. In Metro Manila, disregarding traffic signs was the major cause of traffic accidents and violations based on the 2017 Accomplishment Report of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority [6], a government agency in charge of transport and traffic management in Metro Manila. In 2017, disregarding traffic signs was the number one cause of traffic violations, with over 91,000 cases, an increase of almost 37,000 cases compared to 2016 (See Table 1) [6]. Likewise, disregarding traffic signs was the number two cause of accidents in the region, with 27,651 cases of accidents or 30 percent of the total accidents in 2017 (See Figure 1) [6]. Thus, this study was conducted to analyze if drivers and nondrivers (treated as pedestrians) disregard traffic signs due to low comprehension of traffic signs. Therefore, selecting effective countermeasures to improve road and pedestrian safety is a critical component in addressing the continuous road traffic violations and accidents in Metro Manila. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c l c c c} \hline
**Rank** & **Violation** & **2016** & **2017** & **Difference** \\ \hline
1 & Disregarding Traffic Sign & 54,917 & 91,843 & 36,926 \\
2 & Obstruction & 45,729 & 73,082 & 27,353 \\
3 & Unified Vehicle Reduction Program & 22,503 & 30,474 & 7971 \\
4 & Illegal Parking (not towed) & 20,467 & 26,110 & 5643 \\
5 & Illegal Parking (towed) & 14,222 & 19,126 & 4904 \\  & Loading/Unloading in Prohibited & & & \\
6 & Zone along EDSA & 7077 & 11,888 & 4811 \\
7 & Truck Ban & 7032 & 9604 & 2572 \\
8 & Stalled Vehicle & 7568 & 8253 & 685 \\
9 & Reckless Driving & 6532 & 7754 & 1222 \\
10 & Private Vehicle Using Yellow Lane & - & 7671 & - \\  & Motorcycle Lane (Commonwealth) & 6373 & - & - \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Top 10 Traffic Violations in Metro Manila, 2016 and 2017. Figure 1: Major causes of vehicular accidents in Metro Manila, 2017. One effective countermeasure is through the proper communication of traffic sign messages which depends on how these traffic signs are designed, using symbols with different shapes along with text or words [7]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [8] suggested the use of pictorial symbols in traffic signs, since they can effectively convey complex information using limited resources, are more easily identifiable than words from a greater distance and support the better performance of memory tasks compared to text. Because symbols provide a language-free method of communicating, they can potentially be understood by diverse groups which vary in life experience and reading ability [9]. [PERSON] et al.