Page:Report of the Departmental Committee on Traffic Signs (1946).djvu/17

 or Bye-law duly confirmed by.the central authority. In effect, the erection, including siting, of signs of this type is subject to the approval of the Department in each individual case.

Specially authorised signs may be erected only as specified in their authorisation.

Mandatory Signs.—For generally and specially authorised signs requiring traffic to follow a particular route, or to keep to a particular part of the highway, the position is the same as for prohibitory signs. An exception is the “Keep Left” sign which may be erected at the discretion of the highway authority.

Mandatory signs requiring traffic to halt or stop may be used only in the circumstances specified in their authorisation or in the relative directions issued by the Minister.

Pedestrian Crossing Markings—The authorised pedestrian crossing markings (studs and beacons) may be used only where the Minister has approved a crossing place or scheme of crossing places for foot passengers.

Light Signals.—Traffic light signals may be erected only where the Minister has approved their installation.

Carriageway Markings—Authorised carriageway markings may be laid down at the discretion of the highway authority, except that markings of a mandatory character indicating the route to be followed by traffic may be used only for the purpose of giving notice of the effect of a statutory Order, Regulation or Bye-law, duly confirmed by the central authority.

We do not suggest any change in the discretion allowed to highway authorities under the above arrangements, but we recommend that within the exercise of their discretion highway authorities should be required to have regard to the recommendations contained in this Report and should, where appropriate, collaborate with the police in the provision and siting of traffic signs.

General principles

8. In paragraph 8 of their Report the 1933 Committee laid down four general principles with which all traffic signs should comply if they are adequately to fulfil their purpose. In our view complete understanding of these principles is of fundamental importance in any approach to the subject of traffic signs and we therefore think it desirable to repeat them here in substantially the same form:

(i) Traffic signs must be so designed and sited as to attract, both by day and by night, the attention of the persons for whom they are intended.

(ii) Their significance must be clear at a glance.

(iii) They must be so sited that sufficient time is allowed for the persons for whom they are intended to adapt their course of action to the indication given.

(iv) They must, so far as possible, be erected on a uniform system and the use of unnecessary signs should be avoided.

These principles command general acceptance, but we consider that their importance justifies our emphatic reaffirmation of them.

Conspicuity

9. We consider that in a number of cases insufficient attention has been given to the siting of signs from the point of view of conspicuity. The need to place signs where the road user will have an unobstructed view of them 1s obvious, but it is less generally realised that the character of the background against which the sign is seen has an important bearing on conspicuity. We