Page:Report of the Traffic Signs Committee (1963).pdf/60

 219. We see no need for any change in the present policy and system of authorising but we recommend that in future authorised signs should follow the recommendations which we have made as regards shape, colour and design for each class of sign, and that they should be of the appropriate size for the category of road on which they will be erected (see Appendix VI). They should also be as little wordy as possible and, where practicable, should be expressed in symbols so long as these are immediately and obviously recognisable. It would not be reasonable that the expense of publicity should be incurred to make known the meaning of a symbol unless it is, or is likely to become, of very general use.

220. The lighting, mounting and siting of authorised signs should be subject to the same general standards as we have recommended for other roadside signs.

221. With the growth of road traffic the need for carriageway markings is becoming more urgent and with the improvement of road surfaces the scope for their effective use is increasing. The Traffic Signs Committees of 1933 and 1944 each recommended a wider use of these markings than had hitherto been the case. In 1957 the United Kingdom signed the European Agreement on Road Markings which aims at international uniformity in this field.

222. Carriageway markings fall broadly into three groups-transverse, longitudinal and other (mainly worded) markings. We consider each of these in turn and then deal with more general matters.

223. Half the fatal or serious accidents on our roads take place at or near road junctions. We believe that an effective step which could be taken to reduce these casualties would be to ensure that at the great majority of junctions, and certainly at those junctions where serious danger exists, the minor road is distinguished from the major so that drivers on the minor road are given a clear indication that they should give way to major road traffic.

224. We are particularly concerned here with those junctions which are not controlled by traffic signals or the police.

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. The single broken white line prescribed in Regulations (Regs. RM6) to indicate the edge of a carriageway has been widely used by some authorities to indicate which is the minor road. Investigations made by the Road Research Laboratory have shown that these markings have led to a significant reduction in accidents and we have considered whether they should universally be used in this way as a ' give way' warning. We have come to the conclusion, however, that a more emphatic marking is required and we