Ministry of Transport: Traffic Signs Committee

“ It could be maintained that signs to lavatories are entirely a local authority matter and should not be prescribed by central authority in Regulations concerning traffic signs. The whereabouts of lavatories is, however, very much a matter of concern to those travelling by road, a concern which is shared by local authorities in their quest to prevent a misuse of the roadside, and particularly the land adjoining lay-bys. It is therefore important to drivers and indeed to all road users, that the existence of lavatories near to public highways should be indicated with as much clarity as possible. ”

“ Road works are much the commonest form of obstruction and differ from the rest, such as vehicle accidents, breakdowns, landslip and soil subsidence, in being for the most part predictable and so allowing time for warning signs to be put up in advance.
193. At present the official requirements for signing temporary road obstructions are set out in two Traffic Safety Codes issued jointly by the Departments. One is concerned with all-purpose roads only, as distinct from motorways, but confines itself to the signing of road works and does not refer to accidents or other emergencies. ”

“ At every stage in the design of traffic signs and in the development of a comprehensive traffic sign system, the increased cost of a higher standard of sign must be balanced against the greater safety resulting and both must be assessed as accurately as possible in relation to amenity before recommendations can be made. We have been very fortunate in the assistance we have received from the Road Research Laboratory in the many tests and experiments which they have carried out to determine the relative efficacy of various aspects of traffic signs. ”

“ Combined vehicle and pedestrian phases are sometimes possible where the only permitted movements during the vehicle phase do not pass over the pedestrian crossing. We think that the decision to provide such arrangements must be a matter for the experienced judgment of the Departments and that no rule of thumb can be formulated. Nevertheless we feel that the growth of traffic in urban areas makes it necessary to give pedestrians more help in crossing the road safely. ”

“ There should be greater uniformity throughout the country in the use of traffic signs. It is impracticable to make it an entirely central responsibility but if official directions as to the use of traffic signs were made more explicit and were supplemented by a simply expressed and illustrated manual for highway authorities we think that a higher standard of uniformity could be achieved. ”

“ In view of the number of short stretches of dual-carriageways in this country, and the increased vehicle speeds which these generate we regard it as most important that drivers be effectively warned before they return to a single-carriageway. This risk is especially serious where dual-carriageways are so widely separated that one cannot be seen from the other.
There is, however, no Protocol equivalent and we have considered whether two arrows on a rectangular blue informatory sign would be adequate. But we have come to the conclusion that the warning connotation is necessary. ”

“ In some Continental countries the difficult problem of quickly providing warning of an emergency is met by allowing drivers to place warning devices on the carriageway. In Italy, for example, certain vehicles are required to carry a triangular warning sign which can be placed on the carriageway not less than 50 metres in advance of an obstruction . We think that signs of this sort may be of help in reducing the risk of accidents at the scene of an emergency, particularly on motorways and other high speed roads . ”

“ In either circumstance we consider that drivers need some indication of the type of animal which they are liable to meet. We therefore recommend that where the danger of animals justifies a warning the appropriate sign as shown at figure 54, 55, 56 or 57 should be used; when erected on unfenced roads the signs should be supplemented by a plate as at figure 70. We think, however, that use of these signs should continue to be centrally controlled by the Minister to ensure reasonable and uniform use and particularly to prevent proliferation to an extent which might invalidate their usefulness. ”

“ At most crossings, however, pedestrians are at present expected to judge for themselves when it is safe to cross by keeping their eye on the traffic. At the simpler junctions pedestrians are usually able to see at least one signal appropriate to each traffic phase to help them in judging the traffic situation. But where complex methods of control are employed, signals can be confusing or misleading and it is safer to judge mainly by watching the traffic. ”

“ When the design is agreed we consider that the bollard should become a prescribed traffic sign. We think that there should be a high degree of uniformity of bollards throughout the country-this does not mean that an agreed design should remain unalterable for ever-but we recognise that there may be, in some cities, street refuge posts of unusual character which, because of their architectural merit or historic interest, should be retained if adaptable. ”

“ The number of private cars has increased from 11⁄2 million at the end of the war to over 6 million today, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all motor vehicles. Their acceleration and speed capabilities are considerably greater than they used to be. Although visibility from the driver's seat has been improved, the average height of private vehicles has fallen so that drivers' eyes are at a lower level. This has an effect upon their ability to see and read traffic signs and markings and it influences such problems as the height of street bollards. ”

“ For this reason proposals have sometimes been made that local highway authorities should cease to be responsible for traffic signs and that what is required to achieve the necessary uniformity in the interests both of safety and the convenience of road users is that all traffic signing should become the direct responsibility of Ministers, who, it has been suggested, should be advised by a committee consisting of leading traffic engineers, representatives of motoring organisations and the police. ”

“ With the increase in traffic and liability to urban congestion there is some justification for keeping spaces in front of ambulance stations, hospitals and fire stations clear of parked vehicles so that ambulances and fire appliances can move in and out; also in front of schools so that children can be clearly seen from passing vehicles. ”

“ The advance direction signs now used on most all-purpose roads in the United Kingdom are currently criticised mainly because the place names are too small to be read at the speeds of modern traffic and also because they tend to be sited too near to the junction referred to and to be mounted in some cases unnecessarily high. ”

“ Where signals have to be installed on high-speed roads there is a need for them to be more conspicuous and visible from a greater distance than would be possible with the normal installation at the roadside . This is particularly so on 3-lane dual-carriageways where drivers on the centre lane may have their view of the signal obscured by vehicles in the other lanes. It is also necessary on wide and heavily trafficked roads in urban areas. In both these circumstances we think that overhead traffic signals, as already used abroad, may be necessary. ”

“ Throughout the country there are many old roads which have fallen into disrepair and some have been signposted by highway authorities as footpaths or bridleways. In the main these are the roads indicated as 'roads used as public paths' on the latest Ordnance Survey maps. Whilst it is still legal for motor vehicles to use these roads, the footpath or bridleway signs tend to indicate that they are reserved for pedestrians or horse riders, who, we under stand, have sometimes expressed resentment at their use by motors. ”

“ In places where there is material danger of the road subsiding it should presumably be closed to traffic but if the danger exists only as a remote possibility we do not consider that a warning sign would serve any useful purpose. We do not overlook the relatively wider danger of road subsidence in mining areas but we hope that measures can be taken other than the vague and alarming traffic sign at present prescribed . ”

“ We have considered the criteria to be adopted in determining what place names should be included on directional signs and recommend that on Primary routes they should normally include only the next place of traffic importance since on these high speed roads it is essential to reduce the legend on a sign to the minimum. Exceptions will be necessary but should be made sparingly. A decision as to which places should rank as places of traffic importance should we think, rest with the Departments concerned in consultation with local authorities. ”

“ But since they cannot, like the traffic for which they cater, be in a continuous process of alteration, because uniformity and familiarity to drivers are so important, it is necessary that when modernisation takes place it should look beyond the conditions existing at the time and take account of those which are likely to exist within the reasonable life of these numerous and costly signs. ”

“ On lightly trafficked roads and roads not subject to fog, the choice between plain lines and reflectorised lines, either alone or in combination with 'catseyes', will mainly need to depend on traffic conditions on these roads but we think that plain lines might generally be sufficient where 'catseyes' are employed. In streets where the lighting is in operation all night we doubt whether 'catseyes' are necessary except possibly in foggy areas. ”

“ In urban areas signs liable either to be obscured by pedestrians or to obstruct them will have to be set above their heads and in this case we recommend a clearance of 6 feet 9 inches above ground level. But it will often be possible to place signs, particularly flag type direction signs, at the edge of the footpath, for instance on guard rails as is widely done abroad. Here they will not normally be obscured by pedestrians and, in the light of local circumstances and the volume of traffic, some risk of obscuration by vehicles should be accepted. ”

“ In our view a great deal more could be done by the use of carriageway markings to increase safety at junctions not controlled by traffic signals or police and to remove doubt from the minds of drivers and consequently to make such junctions safer. ”

“ Knowledge of the new signs should be required at driving tests, and those already qualified to drive should be required to state, when renewing their licences, that they have read the latest edition of the Highway Code and that they understand the new signs. ”

“ Reflectorised signs should be so mounted in relation to the carriageway that they can be seen easily in dipped headlights. For, with the increasing volume of vehicles on our roads it will become more and more necessary for drivers to travel with their headlights dipped after dark so as not to endanger oncoming traffic. This also makes it more important for signs at junctions on unlit roads to have independent illumination. ”

“ Others take steps to remedy urban clutter, including the contribution made by traffic signs, by inviting civic and amenity societies to advise them upon tidying-up schemes. Others are outstandingly good (or bad) in their attention to maintenance and siting of signs, to the elimination of obstructions (by tree lopping and hedge trimming for example) and to the principle of the continuity of signing. ”

“ At certain junctions where control is not exercised by traffic signals, police, or a Stop sign there will nevertheless be a need for a sign in addition to the new transverse carriageway marking which we advocate in paragraph 224. We therefore recommend for this purpose the sign at figure 8. Since avoidance of accidents will depend upon drivers obeying the sign we believe that it should be given a legal mandatory significance and the meaning of 'proceed so as not to cause inconvenience or danger to traffic on the major road'. ”

“ It should be left to the discretion of highway authorities to decide whether directional signs as well as other important signs be externally or internally illuminated. We are aware of recent developments in the design of box type internally illuminated signs for commercial purposes and we think that there is a use for this type in the traffic sign field.
As many informatory signs in lighted urban areas do not justify the expense of direct lighting (e.g. toilet and parking signs) , these should be placed where they are made visible after dark by street lighting. ”