Page:UK Traffic Signs Manual - Chapter 4 - Warning Signs. 2013.pdf/44



The sign to diagram 544 is for use only at Zebra crossings. A plate to diagram 7014 (see para 1.17) indicating "NEW ZEBRA CROSSING AHEAD" may be used at a new installation; its use is restricted by direction 37 to a period no longer than 3 months. Zebra crossings should not be installed on roads where the 85th percentile speed is 35 mph or more (see para 4.2.3 in Local Transport Note 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings). Diagram 544 must not be used at Pelican, Puffin or Toucan crossings, where diagram 543 (see section 8) is appropriate, nor where pedestrians cross the road but no formal crossing exists. In the latter case, on high-speed roads, diagram 562 may be used together with the supplementary plate to diagram 563 "Pedestrians crossing" (see para 17.4).

Diagram 544 may be used in combination with a distance plate to diagram 572 when it is necessary to site it at a distance much different to that specified in Appendix A. When the crossing is in another road leading from a junction ahead, a plate to diagram 573, with or without a distance, may be used.

Signs to diagram 544 should be used only when the visibility of the crossing is impaired by a bend or a hump in the road. Signs should not be needed if the visibility of both beacons at a Zebra crossing is greater than the distance shown in table 9-1. If the sight lines to a Zebra crossing are obscured by parked vehicles, the making of a waiting prohibition order should be considered.

Where pedestrians frequently use a road without proper footways, diagram 544.1 may be used to warn drivers of the likely presence of pedestrians in the carriageway. If a footway stops and resumes after some interval, the supplementary plate to diagram 547.3 may be used, with the distance varied to show the length of the road which is without a footway.

The sign to diagram 544.2 is used to warn of the likely presence of frail or disabled people. Its use should be restricted to sites where numbers of slow-moving pedestrians are likely to cross a road other than at a Zebra or signalled crossing. This might be near sheltered housing or nursing homes, where drivers need to be reminded that a pedestrian in the road ahead might be frail or blind and need more time to cross than an able-bodied person would. 43