Road signs in the United Kingdom

Encyclopedia : R : RO : ROA : Road signs in the United Kingdom

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History

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 system currently in use was developed in the late 1950's and early 1960's by the Anderson Committee, which established the motorway signing system, and by the Worboys Committee, which reformed signing for existing all-purpose roads. Older ("pre-Worboys") signs belong to a different system which developed incrementally after 1904, when the Local Government Board first published a circular on traffic signing. The standards governing this system remained of an advisory nature until 1933 when regulations for traffic signs were published under powers created by the Road Traffic Act 1930.

The document governing traffic signing in Britain is the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) which is comparable to the MUTCD in the USA. The current signing system was introduced on 1 January 1965 by TSRGD 1964. Britain remains the only European Union member nation to use non-metric (imperial) measurements for distance and speed, although metric authorized-mass signs were prescribed in TSRGD 1981 and there is now a dual-unit (imperial first) option for clearance signing. TSRGD 1994 prescribed a system of white-on-brown direction signs for tourist attractions and also promulgated the Guildford Rules (see below). TSRGD 2002 contains the current standards and includes a sophisticated system of black-on-yellow direction signs for roadworks.

Colours

Three separate colour schemes exist for Worboys direction signs and are based on a classification of roads for signing purposes. 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 automobile traffic and are owned by central government, and some local authority principal routes are signed as primary routes.

Guildford Rules

A sophisticated system, called the Guildford Rules, is used to put directional information pertaining to routes of different class on patches coloured appropriately for those classes on direction signs which have the overall background colour appropriate to the roads where they are located. Brown patches, for tourist destinations, can also be added to primary and non-primary route direction signs; however, the Guildford Rules do not apply to roadworks direction signs. This patching system was developed in the mid-1980's as part of an effort to eliminate sign clutter and receives its name from the town of Guildford, Surrey, where the experimental signs were placed.

Example directional sign

The direction sign shown to the right is located near Bristol in England. It is patched according to the Guildford Rules. It gives directions to (Bristol) Parkway railway station (red British Rail symbol), motorways (blue-background patches), and towns reached via non-primary A-roads. Red-edged patches and red-bordered signs are used for military establishments (the Ministry of Defence at Abbey Wood in this example). Destinations which are reached indirectly have the corresponding road number in brackets; for instance, this sign says that Filton is reached by following the A4174 ring road to the A38, and then turning onto the A38 for Filton.

Typefaces

Multiple typefaces are specified for current British road signs. The Transport fonts: Transport Medium (for light text on dark backgrounds) and Transport Heavy (for dark text on light backgrounds), are mixed-case and are used for all legend on fixed permanent signs except route numbers on motorway signs. Two other typefaces, Motorway Permanent (light on dark) and Motorway Temporary (dark on light), are used for route numbers on motorway signs; these have elongated letters and are designed to add emphasis to route numbers on motorways. Transport Medium and Motorway Permanent were developed for the Anderson committee and appeared on the first motorway signs; the other two alphabets are similar but have additional stroke width in the letters to compensate for light backgrounds.

Language

Bilingual signs are used in Wales. Welsh highway authorities choose whether they are "English-priority" or "Welsh-priority" and the language having priority in the highway authority's area appears first on signs. Most of south Wales is English-priority while north Wales is Welsh-priority. Bilingual signs were permitted by special authorization after 1965 and in 1972 the Bowen committee recommended that they should be provided systematically throughout Wales. Bilingual signing in Wales and elsewhere has caused traffic engineers to inquire into the safety ramifications of providing sign legend in multiple languages. As a result some countries have opted to limit bilingual signing to dual-name signs near places of cultural importance (e.g. New Zealand), or to use it only in narrowly circumscribed areas such as near borders or in designated language zones (e.g. the NAFTA countries). A small number of these signs exist in the UK on major roads that leave major ports (such as Dover). They detail in English and French, standard speed limits and reminders to drive on the left.

In the Scottish Highlands, road signs are often found with the Scottish Gaelic given (in green) as well as the English (in black). This seems to be part of the Gaelic language revival encouraged by many, including the Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

Categorisation

Road signs in the United Kingdom can be categorised as such:

Directional signs

The term "Directional sign" covers both Advance Direction Signs (ADS), placed on the approach to a junction, and Direction Signs (DS) at the junction itself, showing where to turn. A DS usually has a chevron (pointed) end, and this type is also referred to as a flag-type sign. However, a DS may also be rectangular with an arrow when it is necessary to indicate a direction other than left or right.

An ADS may be one of four types: Stack type - with the destinations in each direction on a separate panel that also contains an arrow; Map-type - to give a highly clear and simplified diagrammatic plan view of a junction, for example a roundabout. Dedicated lane - shows the destinations separated by vertical dotted lines to indicate which lane to use; Gantry-mounted - for use on busy motorways and other wide roads where verge mounted signs would be frequently obstructed by other traffic.

An ADS generally has blue, green or white as its background colour to indicate the status of road (motorway, primary or non-primary) on which it is placed. Except on the main carriageway of a motorway, coloured panels are used to indicate routes from the junction being signed that have a different status. A DS should always be a single colour indicating the status of the road to be joined, although there are a few rare exceptions to this rule.

Destinations are written in mixed case white Transport Medium alphabet for green and blue backgrounds, and in black Transport Heavy alphabet for white backgrounds. Route numbers are coloured yellow when placed directly on a green background.

All types of ADS (but not DS) may optionally have the junction name at the top of the sign in capital letters in a separate panel.

Warning signs

The importance of a warning sign is emphasised by the red border drawn around it and the mostly triangular shape.

Regulatory signs

Signs in circular red borders are prohibitive, whether or not they also have a diagonal red line. Circular blue signs mainly give a positive (mandatory) instruction. It is often said that regulatory signs are mainly circular, but by far the most numerous type relates to parking (waiting and loading plates and zone entry signs) and are rectangular.

Informational signs

Informational signs are mainly rectangular but, strictly speaking, this category also covers directional signs. They are often coloured to match the directional signing for the status of road in question, but where this is not necessary they are generally blue with white text. Examples include "lane gain" and "lane drop" signs on grade-separated roads, and "IN" and "OUT" indications for accesses to private premises from the highway.

Road works signs

These signs are mainly yellow, and are all temporary. These are on stands which are secured with sandbags, to prevent them being blown over in the wind. Some road works signs have parts which can be changed, for example the distance before the road works begin.

Street name signs

Legally these are not defined as traffic signs in the UK. This gives authorities flexibility on how to design and where to locate them. They can be fixed to a signpost, wall, lamp column or building. As well as the Transport alphabets used on road signs, it is also common for street nameplates to use the Kindersley serif font.

See also

• Highway Code

External links

• [Know your UK road signs. Try this Road signs driving theory test]

 

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