Traffic signs can be grouped into several types.
For
example, Annex 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and
Signals (1968), with over 50 signatory
countries, has eight categories of signs:
- Danger warning signs
- Priority signs
- Prohibitory or restrictive signs
- Mandatory signs
- Special regulation signs
- Information, facilities, or service
signs
- Direction, position, or indication signs
- Additional panels
In
the United States and in Australia signs are
categorized as follows:
- Regulatory signs
- Warning signs
- Guide signs
- Street signs
- Route marker signs
- Expressway signs
- Freeway signs
- Welcome Signs
- Informational signs
- Recreation and cultural interest
signs
- Emergency management (civil defense)
signs
- Temporary traffic control (construction
or work zone) signs
- School signs
- Railroad and light rail signs
- Bicycle signs
In
the United States, the categories, placement,
and graphic standards for traffic signs and
pavement markings are legally defined in the
Federal Highway Administration's
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as
the standard.
A rather informal distinction among the
directional signs is the one between advance
directional signs, interchange directional
signs, and reassurance signs. Advance
directional signs appear at a certain distance
from the interchange, giving information for
each direction. A number of countries do not
give information for the road ahead (so-called
"pull-through" signs), and only for the
directions left and right. Advance directional
signs enable drivers to take precautions for the
exit (e.g., switch lanes, double check whether
this is the correct exit, slow down). They often
do not appear on lesser roads, but are normally
posted on expressways and motorways, as drivers
would be missing exits without them. While each
nation has its own system, the first approach
sign for a motorway exit is mostly placed at
least 1000 m from the actual interchange. After
that sign, one or two additional advance
directional signs typically follow before the
actual interchange itself.
Rural municipality weight limit sign on a
dirt road.
Speed camera sign used in Hong Kong,
Ireland, Latvia and the United Kingdom
The earliest road signs were milestones,
giving distance or direction; for example,
the Romans erected stone columns throughout
their empire giving the distance to Rome. In
the Middle Ages, multidirectional signs at
intersections became common, giving
directions to cities and towns.
Traffic signs became more important with the
development of automobiles. One of the first
modern-day road sign systems was devised by
the Italian Touring Club in 1895. By 1900, a
Congress of the International League of
Touring Organizations in Paris was
considering proposals for standardization of
road signage. The basic patterns of most
traffic signs were set at the 1908
International Road Congress in Rome. In
1909, nine European governments agreed on
the use of four pictorial symbols,
indicating "bump", "curve", "intersection",
and "grade-level railroad crossing". The
intensive work on international road signs
that took place between 1926 and 1949
eventually led to the development of the
European road sign system. The United States
developed its own
road signage system, which was also
adopted by several other nations. Beginning
in the 1960s, North American signage began
adopting international symbols and signs
into its system.
Over the years, change was gradual. Today,
signs are almost all metal, rather than
wood, and are coated with retroreflective
sheetings of various types for nighttime and
low-light visibility.
New generations of traffic signs based on
big electronic
displays can also change their symbols
and provide intelligent behavior by means of
sensors or by remote control. These "road
beacon systems" are based on the use of RFID
transponders buried in the asphalt to allow
for on-board signalling and interaction
between the car and the road.
Yet another "medium" for transferring
information ordinarily associated with
visible signs is RIAS (Remote Infrared
Audible Signage), e.g., "talking signs" for
print-handicapped (including
blind/low-vision/illiterate) people. These
are infra-red transmitters serving the same
purpose as the usual graphic signs when
received by an appropriate device such as a
hand-held receiver or one built into a cell
phone.
Yellow and black warning signs for kangaroos
are common in Australia.
The North American, Australian and New
Zealand colors normally have these meanings:
- red
with white
for stop signs, yield, and forbidden
actions (such as No Parking)
- green
with white
letters for informational signs, such as
directions, distances, and places
- brown
with white
for signs to parks, historic sites, ski
areas, forests, and campgrounds
- blue
with white
for rest areas, food, gasoline or
petrol, hospitals, lodging, and other
services
- black with
white
for commercial, exempt, special, and
signs were used in the past
- white
with black (or red letters) for
regulatory signs, such as speed limits
(or parking)
- yellow
with black letters and symbols
for warning signs, such as curves and
school zones
- orange
with black letters for temporary
traffic control zones and detours
associated with road construction
Regulatory signs are also sometimes seen
with white letters on red or black signs. In
Quebec, blue is often used for tourist
attractions and brown public services such
as rest areas; many black-on-yellow signs
are red-on-white instead. Many U.S. states
and Canadian provinces now use fluorescent
orange for construction signs, and
fluorescent yellow-green for school zone,
crosswalk, pedestrian, and bicycle warning
signs. Fluorescent pink signs are sometimes
used for incident management warning.
The color red catches people’s attention and
can often be represented as a dangerous
color. There is no clear reason for this
reference unless we use the notion that
blood is red and we usually only bleed when
we are in pain so therefore it is a
dangerous color.
Red Equals Danger
Several studies have been carried out to why
we have such strong feelings on the color
red but nothing has been proven yet. No
matter what the scientific reasoning is
behind the meaning of the color red, it
attracts motorist’s attention and has been
in use to warn wary travelers of the dangers
that are ahead on the road network.
Red is Commonly
Used as a Border on Signs. When used
as a border on a circular sign in the UK the
color red signifies that you must not do
anything but if the color red is a border on
a triangular sign then there could be danger
ahead for motorists, you are being warned
that extra care is needed in the vicinity of
the sign.
Every state and province has different
markers for its own highways, but use
standard ones for all federal highways. Many
special highways– such as the Queen
Elizabeth Way, Trans-Canada Highway, and the
Dixie Highway in the U.S. – have used unique
signs. Counties in the U.S. sometimes use a
pentagon-shaped blue sign with yellow
letters for numbered county roads, though
the use is inconsistent even within states.
Distances on traffic signs generally follow
the measurement system in use by the
country. Most U.S. road signs use the
imperial system of miles (or a fraction) or
yards, although the federal Department of
Transportation has developed metric
standards for all signs. United Kingdom
signs also display distances in miles.
Elsewhere, metric distances are in very wide
use, though not universal.
Where signs use a language, the recognized
language/s of the area is normally used.
Signs in most of the U.S., Canada,
Australia, and New Zealand are in English.
Quebec uses French, while New Brunswick uses
both English and French, and a number of
other provinces, such as Ontario and
Manitoba, use bilingual French–English signs
in certain localities. Mexico uses Spanish.
Within a few miles of the U.S.-Mexico
border, road signs are often in English and
Spanish. Indigenous languages, mainly
Nahuatl as well as some Mayan languages,
have been used as well. In Israel, many
signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
The typefaces predominantly used on signs in
the U.S. and Canada are the FHWA alphabet
series (Series B through Series F and Series
E Modified). Details of letter shape and
spacing for these alphabet series are given
in "Standard Alphabets for Traffic Control
Devices," first published by the Bureau of
Public Roads (BPR) in 1945 and subsequently
updated by the Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA). It is now part of
Standard Highway Signs (SHS), the
companion volume to the
MUTCD which gives full design details
for signfaces.
Initially, all of the alphabet series
consisted of uppercase letters and digits
only, although lowercase extensions were
provided for each alphabet series in a 2002
revision of SHS. Series B through Series F
evolved from identically named alphabet
series which were introduced in 1927.
Straight-stroke letters in the 1927 series
were substantially similar to their modern
equivalents, but unrounded glyphs were used
for letters such as B, C, D, etc., to permit
more uniform fabrication of signs by
illiterate painters. Various state highway
departments and the federal BPR experimented
with rounded versions of these letters in
the following two decades.
The modern, rounded alphabet series were
finally standardized in 1945 after rounded
versions of some letters (with widths
loosely appropriate for Series C or D) were
specified as an option in the 1935
MUTCD and draft versions of the new
typefaces had been used in 1942 for guide
signs on the newly constructed Pentagon road
network.
The mixed-case alphabet now called Series E
Modified, which is the standard for
destination legend on freeway guide signs,
originally existed in two parts: an
all-uppercase Series E Modified, which was
essentially similar to Series E except for a
larger stroke width, and a lowercase-only
alphabet. Both parts were developed by the
California Division of Highways (now
Caltrans) for use on freeways in 1948–1950.
Initially the Division used all-uppercase
Series E Modified for button-reflectorized
letters on ground-mounted signs and
mixed-case legend (lowercase letters with
Series D capitals) for externally
illuminated overhead guide signs. Several
Eastern turnpike authorities blended
all-uppercase Series E Modified with the
lowercase alphabet for destination legends
on their guide signs.
Eventually this combination was accepted for
destination legend in the first manual for
signing Interstate highways, which was
published in 1958 by the American
Association of State Highway Officials and
adopted as the national standard by the BPR.
Some traffic signs, such as the left-turn
prohibition sign hanging from this gantry,
are lit for better visibility, particularly
at night or in inclement weather.
The U.S. National Park Service uses NPS
Rawlinson
Roadway, a serif typeface, for guide
signage; it typically appears on a brown
background. Rawlinson has replaced Clarendon
as the official NPS typeface, but some
states still use Clarendon for recreational
signage.
Georgia, in the past, used uppercase Series
D with a custom lowercase alphabet on its
freeway guide signs; the most distinctive
feature of this typeface is the lack of a
dot on lowercase i and j. More recent
installations appear to include the dots.
The Clearview typeface, developed
by U.S. researchers to provide improved
legibility, is permitted for light legend on
dark backgrounds under FHWA interim
approval. Clearview has seen widespread use
by state departments of transportation in
Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania,
Texas, and Virginia. In Canada, the Ministry
of Transportation for the Province of
British Columbia specifies Clearview for use
on its highway guide signs, and its usage
has shown up in Toronto on the Don Valley
Parkway and Gardiner Expressway, as well as
major city streets (white on blue). The font
is also being used on newer signs in
Manitoba.
It is common for local governments, airport
authorities, and contractors to fabricate
traffic signs using typefaces other than the
FHWA series; Helvetica and Arial are common
choices.
For More
information about Public Signage Typefaces
click here »
New York Times article "The Road To Clarity"
about Clearview Typeface »
The
first road signs established in Czechoslovakia
in November 1, 1935, six blue-white danger
warning signs. They were supplanted after
November 1, 1935 with red-white-black signs.
In
1968, the European countries signed the
Vienna Convention on Road Traffic treaty,
with the aim of standardizing traffic
regulations in participating countries in order
to facilitate international road traffic and to
increase road safety. Part of the treaty was the
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals,
which defined the traffic signs and signals. As
a result, in Western Europe the traffic signs
are well standardized, although there are still
some country-specific exceptions, mostly dating
from the pre-1968 era.
The principle of the European traffic sign
standard is that shapes and colors are to be
used for indicating same purposes. Triangular
shapes (white or yellow background) are used in
warning signs. Additionally, the Vienna
convention allows an alternative shape for
warning signs, a diamond shape, which is rarely
used in Europe. The prohibition signs in Europe
are round with a red border. Informative and
various other secondary signs are of rectangular
shape. Animals shown on warning signs include
moose, frogs, deer, ducks, cows, sheep, horses,
polar bears (on Svalbard), and monkeys (in
Gibraltar). The Convention allows any animal
image to be used.
Directional signs have not been harmonized under
the Convention, at least not on ordinary roads.
As a result, there are substantial differences
in directional signage throughout Europe.
Differences apply in typeface, type of arrows
and, most notably, color scheme. The convention
however specifies a difference between motorways
and ordinary roads, and that motorways use
white-on-green (e.g., Italy, Switzerland,
Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria,
Romania, Slovakia, Serbia) or white-on-blue
(e.g., Norway, Germany, the Republic of Ireland,
France, United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands,
Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal,
Latvia). Hungary switched from white-on-green to
white-on-blue in the early 2000s during the
reconstruction of existing and construction of
new motorways, although the first section of the
M5 motorway built in the early 90s still has
white-on-green signs.
Differences are greater for non-motorways:
white-on-blue in Italy, Switzerland, Sweden,
Czech Republic, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia,
Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Finland and
Netherlands (in this case the same as
motorways), white-on-green in France, United
Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Poland and
Portugal, black-on-yellow in Germany,
Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia, Serbia and
Croatia, red-on-white in Denmark (though
white-on-blue on motorway exits and all overhead
gantries), and black-on-white in Spain.
Secondary roads are different from primary roads
in France, United Kingdom, Finland, Republic of
Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal, always
signposted in black-on-white. In Germany, Italy,
Romania and Sweden, black-on-white indicates
only urban roads or urban destinations.
Signposting road numbers differs greatly as
well. Only the European route number, if
signposted, will always be placed in white
letters on a green rectangle. European route
numbers are not signed at all in the United
Kingdom.
Some signs like "STOP", "ZONE" etc are
recommended to be in English, but the local
language is also permitted. If the language uses
non-Latin characters, the names of cities and
places should also be in Latin transcription.
Road signs in the Republic of Ireland are
bilingual, using Irish and English. Wales is
also the same, with bilingual Welsh-English
signs; some parts of Scotland also have
bilingual Scottish Gaelic-English signs. Finland
also uses bilingual signs, in Finnish and
Swedish.
European countries use the metric system on road
signs (distances in kilometres or meters,
heights/widths in meters) with the notable
exception of the UK, where distances are still
indicated in miles, and on remaining finger post
signs in the Republic of Ireland erected before
1977, where distances are also indicated in
miles (which were formally used for all
directional signage in the Republic of Ireland
prior to 1977 and on speed limits prior to
2005). For countries driving on the left, the
convention stipulates that the traffic signs
should be mirror images of those used in
countries driving on the right. This practice,
however, is not systematically followed in the
four European countries driving on the left,
Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the
United Kingdom. The convention permits the use
of two background colors for danger and prohibit
signs, white or yellow. Most countries use white
with a few exceptions like Sweden, Finland,
Iceland and Poland, as yellow tends to be more
visible in areas in which snow is prevalent.
The European traffic signs have been designed
with the principles of heraldry on mind; i.e.,
the sign must be clear and able to be resolved
with one single glance. Most traffic signs
conform to heraldic tincture rules, and rather
use symbols than written texts for better
semiotic clarity.
Traffic signing in the UK conforms broadly
to European norms, though a number of signs
are unique to Britain and direction signs
omit European route numbers. The current
sign system, introduced on 1 January 1965,
was developed in the late 1950s and early
1960s by the Anderson Committee, which
established the motorway signing system, and
by the Worboys Committee, which reformed
signing for existing all-purpose roads. (For
illustrations of most British road signs,
see the Highway Code website.) [Also
see here]
Britain remains the only European Union
member nation and the only Commonwealth
country to use non-metric (Imperial)
measurements for distance and speed,
although metric "authorized-weight" signs
were prescribed in 1981 and there is now a
dual-unit (imperial first) option for
restriction signage, used on safety grounds
where foreign drivers may use the routes so
that they may better understand the
restriction and / or advice about a hazard
ahead.
Three color schemes exist for direction
signs. A road may be a motorway (white on
blue), a primary route (white on dark green
with yellow route numbers), or a non-primary
route (black on white). Most trunk roads,
which carry most of the vehicular traffic
and are owned by and maintained by the
Highways Agency, other roads are maintained
by local authorities, for example county or
borough councils (borough councils are still
subservient to the county in regards to
highway matters but act as their agents in
maintenance)
Two typefaces are specified for British road
signs. Transport medium or Transport Heavy
are used for all text on fixed permanent
signs and most temporary signage, depending
on the color of the sign and associated text
color, white text on a dark background is
normally heavy so that it stands out better.
This is except for route numbers on motorway
signs for which a taller limited character
set typeface called Motorway is used.
Signs are generally in English although
bilingual signs are used in Wales
(English/Welsh) and are beginning to be seen
in parts of the Scottish Highlands
(English/Scottish Gaelic).
All signs and their associated regulations
can be found in "The Traffic Signs
Regulations and General Directions 2002".
Road signs in The Netherlands follow the
Vienna Convention. Directional signs (which
have not been harmonized under the
Convention) always use blue as the
background color. The destinations on the
sign are printed in white. If the
destination is not a town (but an area
within town or some other kind of
attraction), that destination will be
printed in black on a separate white
background within the otherwise blue sign.
The Netherlands always signpost European
road numbers where applicable (i.e., on the
advance directional signs, the interchange
direction signs and on the reassurance
signs). Dutch national road numbers are
placed on a rectangle, with motorways being
signposted in white on a red rectangle (as
an Axx) and primary roads in black on a
yellow rectangle (as Nxx). When a motorway
changes to a primary road, its number
remains the same, but the A is replaced by
the N. So at a certain point the A2 becomes
N2, and when it changes to a motorway again,
it becomes A2 again.
Signs intended for bike-riders always go on
white signs with red or green letters.
The Dutch typeface, known as ANWB-Ee, is
based on the US typeface. A new font, named
ANWB-Uu (also known as Redesign), has been
developed in 1997 and appears on many recent
Dutch signs. The language of the signs is
typically Dutch, even though bilingual signs
may be used, when the information is
relevant for tourists.
The road signs in Sweden mostly follow the
Vienna Convention with a few adaptations,
however, allowed within the convention:
- the background of warning signs is
yellow
- warning signs for elk and reindeer
- the background of direction signs is
blue with white text
- the background of motorway direction
signs is green with white text
- when applicable, the language is
Swedish in Sweden.
The signage typeface Tratex is used
exclusively in Sweden and is available as
freeware.
Traffic signs in Croatia are the same as
traffic signs in the rest of the former
Yugoslavia. Croatian road signs appear to
follow the Vienna convention. The most
common signs are yellow and black signs for
direction, blue and white signs for
information and white-on-green signs are
used on the highways.
Advance directional sign in for a roundabout
in Ireland. The green background indicates
that this sign is on a national road, with
the blue patches left and right indicating a
motorway (with symbol) and the white patches
indicating a regional road or local road.
Until the partition of Ireland in 1922 and
the independence of Southern Ireland (now
the Republic of Ireland) British standards
applied across the island. In 1926 road sign
standards similar to those used in the UK at
the time were adopted.[7] Law requires that
the signs be written in both Irish and
English .
In 1956, road signs in the Republic were
changed to markedly differ from the UK
standard, with the adoption of U.S.-style
"diamond" signs for many road hazard
warnings (junctions, bends, railway
crossings, traffic lights).[8] Some domestic
signs were also invented, such as the
keep-left sign (a black curved arrow
pointing to the upper-left, although some
are similar to the European "white arrow on
blue disk" signs), while some other signs
are not widely adopted outside Ireland, such
as the no-entry sign (a black arrow pointing
ahead in a white circle with a red slashed
circumference).
Directional signage is still firmly based on
the United Kingdom standard, however, with
the basic design of directional signs
remaining the same as the UK in most cases.
The same colors are used for directional
signs in Ireland as in the UK, and the UK
Transport and Motorway fonts are used.
However, signage in the Republic of Ireland
is bilingual, with the Irish text in mixed
case italics, while the English text is in
all upper-case.
The 'wild animals' warning sign, used in
Latvia, Italy, Germany, other countries and
in the other former republics of the Soviet
Union
In January 2005 Ireland adopted metric speed
limits. Around 35,000 existing signs were
replaced and a further 23,000 new signs
erected bearing the speed limit in
kilometres per hour. To avoid confusion with
the old signs, each speed limit sign now has
"km/h" beneath the numerals. Also, since the
adoption of signs based on the Warboys
Committee standard in 1977, Irish
directional signs have used the metric
system, however, unlike with the later speed
limit change over, there was no effort made
to change the existing signage, and as of
2007[update] many finger posts still remain
on rural roads with distances in miles,
although the numbers continue to decline as
roads are improved.
Road signs in Iceland mainly follow the
Vienna Convention, but use a variant of the
color scheme and minor design changes.
Road signs in Latvia mainly of Vienna
Convention regulations, only the design is
different from many other European
countries. The signs have many design issues
common with Russian road signs since the
times of USSR.
Road
signs in South America and Central America vary
from country to country. For the most part,
conventions in signage tend to resemble North
American signage conventions more so than
European and Asian conventions. For example,
warning signs are typically diamond shaped and
yellow rather than triangular and white. Some
variations include the "No Parking" sign, which
uses a letter E instead of P (the Spanish word
for "parking" is estacionamiento and
estacionamento in Brazilian Portuguese), as well
as the Stop sign, which usually reads "Pare" or
"Alto". Notable exceptions include speed limit
signs, which follow the European conventions,
and the "No Entry" sign, often replaced with a
crossed upwards arrow.
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