History of British Traffic Signs.docx

1、History of British Traffic SignsHistory of British Traffic SignsThe pages below present the history of British traffic signs, with a few pictures thrown in for your viewing pleasure.1. Before the 1920s 2. Classification and Regulation 3. From War to Worboys 4. The Worboys Report 5. 1964-1987: Tinker

2、ing around the edges 6. The 1987 Direction Signs Review 7. The Guildford Rules Most of the information here has come from the Department of Transports brochure entitled The History of Traffic Signs, which you can get from them free.Some information on 1908 road signs erected by the AA, RAC and local

3、 authorities in an Adobe PDF file (41KB). Many thanks to David D. Miller for providing this.1: Before the 1920sPerhaps its best to start with a summary of the functions of traffic signs.o Warning of hazards on the road ahead o Giving directions to towns/cities o Instructing traffic to do (or not do)

4、 something Its worth remembering that none of these functions is specific to motor traffic, although this is what we most associate traffic signs with nowadays.The Romans used directional signs of a sort when they installed milestones along the new straight roads they had built in Britain, giving di

5、stances to the next town/military base. When they left, however, the improved infrastructure they had built was left to deteriorate, and the technological advances learnt were forgotten. So the roads and signing fell into neglect. Some fingerposts, giving directions and distances, were erected by pr

6、ivate individuals, and there was no standardised system. The reliability would have been dubious too.Things changed in the 18th century when the General Turnpike Act of 1773 was passed. Under this, Turnpike Trusts were responsible for maintaining the roads using money collected via tolls. Fingerpost

7、s had to be erected along the route, and milestones were also installed for the purpose of calculating the tolls payable. There are still a few of these milestones around on the trunk roads - made out of cast iron, and giving the distances to the next town in each direction. Ill try and get a pictur

8、e of one some time.Until the mid-19th century, roads were only used by pedestrians, and people travelling on horseback (or being pulled along in a carriage by a horse), so they were sedate affairs. Nothing would be travelling at more than 10 miles per hour. However, the coming of the bicycle changed

9、 all that: bicycles were fast and dangerous, both to their riders and to other road users. This was especially true with the roads in such a bad state of repair. An organisation called the Bicycle Union, which represented cyclists, took it upon itself to install danger signs at sharp bends and steep

10、 hills (with a skull and crossbones for the worst hills!).Something else that happened in the mid-19th century was the advent of railways and canals as alternative modes of transport. Roads were not unaffected, as they had to cross railways and canals by means of bridges, built of stone or iron. The

11、se frequently had weight restrictions, and so the railway company would erect weight restriction signs.The combination of signs for cyclists, weight restriction signs, and direction signs erected by local authorities meant that there were about 4,000 signs on British roads at the end of the 19th cen

12、tury. They were not of standard design, there were no regulations to restrict their use, and they were becoming so common that they were ignored by road users! The arrival of the motor car, and the abolition of the red flag law in 1896, meant that there was a new kid on the block. Motorists would ne

13、ed more warning signs, as they could travel much faster than cyclists and horses. With more road users, roads would become more dangerous anyway.In 1903, the Motor Car Act made legislative provision for local authorities to erect their own warning signs. The design, specified in a subsequent Circula

14、r (1904), was standard - a hollow red triangle meaning a hazard, a solid red disc meaning a prohibition, or a hollow white ring meaning a speed limit, above an explanatory plate. You can see some of these signs, as well as some later designs, on the following page.The number of signs appearing on th

15、e verge continued to increase: the motorists organisations the AA and RAC erected their own signs, giving directions and warning of hazards. The official signs were also spreading around the country.2: Classification and RegulationThe large number of signs on British roads was becoming a problem: th

16、ere were so many that they were in danger of being ignored. In response, a committee was appointed in 1919 to consider and report on traffic signs. The committees report, which was used to issue another Circular to local authorities in 1921, suggested the extension of the signing system specified in

17、 1904, with more warning and regulatory signs specified.In addition to the warning and regulatory sign system, the directional signing was given a good going over too. The roads were being classified and numbered at this time, and it was decided to make the public aware of these numbers, rather than

18、 keeping them for offical use only. Thus it was necessary to incorporate the road numbers on directional signs. To this end, fingerposts were standardised with place names in 3-inch high black block capitals on a white background. Class I roads were indicated by a black A and a number on a white bac

19、kground, and Class II roads were indicated by a white B and number on a black background.Here is an example of a fingerpost, with road numbers on each arm. This picture was taken from the DoTs History of Traffic Signs brochure. Note that this was not an actual sign: the A749 is nowhere near Gloucest

20、ershire!This was all fine and dandy, but highway authorities were still not obliged to use these signs, only strongly recommended. Variants were still being produced, and supplemented by the AAs and RACs signs.Yet another Circular was issued in 1930, still not obligatory. This introduced advance dir

21、ection signs: cars were capable of travelling so fast as to need to brake sharply when the driver realised he had reached a junction, and needed to make a decision. These new signs (which had worded legends, eg TURN RIGHT, and arrows) helped give drivers advance warning of a junction. More warning s

22、igns were introduced (for example the steam engine level crossing sign in the table below) and the distinctive STOP sign made its first appearance, although with a more wordy explanation of what the driver was required to do!Yet another committee was set up to review the signing system in 1931; this

23、 reported back in 1933, and finally specified some recommendations which were legally enforceable. There were no major changes to the existing warning signs - the table below shows a selection of the plates (which were mounted beneath hollow red triangles). Common warning plate designs before 1963Si

24、gn meaningDesign Sign meaningDesignLevel crossing (no gates)Level crossing (gates)CrossroadsDouble bendSteep hillHump bridge aheadLow bridge aheadRoad narrowsSchoolSide roadT junctionTraffic signalsGive wayHalt/StopHowever, directional signing was overhauled yet again. The existing system, which con

25、sisted largely of fingerposts and wordy advance direction signs (such as TURN LEFT FOR LONDON), was no longer appropriate for faster traffic on the A and B roads. The signs were still black and white, with A roads black-on-white and B roads white-on-black, but there were a few changes:o A new standa

26、rd font (the Llewellyn-Smith alphabet) was introduced for use on signs. This had capital letters only, was a sans serif font, and all the letters were 4 inches high. o Road numbers were given much more prominence (their use for navigation had probably been underestimated by the Ministry so far), wit

27、h 6-inch high type; o Map signs were introduced, with route number/destinations shown on separate panels affixed to the sign; o Road numbers reached via the main route were indicated by chequers above the route number. Examples of 1933 Regulations SignsThis is an example of a route confirmation sign

28、, placed just after a junction to reassure drivers of the route they are on. This would have been in South East London, and means that by following this (unclassified) road, drivers could reach the A2, A20 and A21.This is a map-type advance direction sign, erected just before a junction. Notice that

29、 the numbers now have more emphasis than the destinations.Surprisingly, despite these new regulations, the AA and RAC were still allowed to put up their own signs. These were of the same format as the 1933 Regulations signs, but with the addition of an AA or RAC badge.3: From War to WorboysThe signi

30、ng system took a knock during the Second World War, when many direction signs were removed or pointed in the wrong direction, for fear that they would assist German invaders. Perhaps the Ministry regretted replacing the more wordy signs (FORK LEFT FOR PORTSMOUTH), harder to understand for non-native

31、 English speakers, with clearer map-type signs now!Another committee was set up in 1944 when the tide of the war had begun to turn, and it was realised that life had to go on: the signing system would need further modifications and additions.o Optional reflecting lenses on the red danger triangles,

32、and significant parts of the warning plate beneath; o Local advance direction signs - white panels (with black lettering) on a black background sign The triangle-above-plate warning sign system had changed little since 1904, and the Government was coming under pressure to adopt more symbolic signs, similar to European practice. Three symbolic signs were introduced in the 1957 Regulations (children, schools and cattle) but this was a rather half-he