Road signs in the United Kingdom and its associated Crown dependencies and overseas territories conform broadly to the standards set by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions set out the specific design and use of traffic signs in Great Britain, and the Traffic Signs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 in Northern Ireland. Features specific to British road signs include the use of miles and yards for distances, and the use of the Welsh language on signs in Wales and Scottish Gaelic on signs in parts of Scotland.
History
Early traffic signs Milestones and direction markers
The Romans used milestones, some of which survive, notably on Stanegate beside Hadrian's Wall.
With the rise of coaching in the eighteenth century, roads were improved and milestones placed. An early set was that placed in 1728 – 1732 between Cambridge and Barkway by Dr William Warren of Trinity Hall (hence the crest on the stones).
The Turnpike Roads Act 1773 required markers to be erected along the turnpike roads indicating the distance between the main towns on the road. These were known as "guide posts" or "fingerposts".
Protection of bridges After the passing of the Malicious Injuries to Property Act, 1827, highway authorities started to place notices on their bridges warning against anyone damaging them. Most notices were placed at the centre of the bridge on its parapet and so informed those in the community who used the bridge rather than addressing travellers There are about twenty of these notices in Dorset.
The Malicious Injuries to Property Act was repealed in 1861, the same year as the Locomotive Act 1861 was passed. Section 6 made it unlawful "to drive [a locomotive] over any ... Bridge on which a conspicuous Notice has been placed ... that the Bridge is insufficient to carry Weights beyond the ordinary Traffic of the District". New notices appeared; some completely new, others as replacements for the earlier ones and, at Bockhampton, Dorset, in addition. Some cited the Act 1861 explicitly and specified the weight limit. The bridge over the Thames at Henley, Oxfordshire, has signs at each side placed to attract the attention of approaching Engine Drivers warning them to take one loaded truck across at a time.
Most such signs are undated. One at Buntingford in Hertfordshire is dated 1899. That in Bournemouth is as late as 1922.
The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 allowed local authorities to create bye-laws imposing (weight) restrictions on bridges. Most used this and subsequent legislation to place notices on bridges. Section.6 of the 1861 Act remained in force until 1980.
Signs for cyclists Modern British road signage can be traced to the development of the "ordinary" bicycle and the establishment of clubs to further the interests of its riders, notably the Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), the National Cyclists' Union (NCU) and the Scottish Cyclists' Union (SCU). By the early 1880s, all three organisations were erecting their own cast-iron "danger boards". Importantly, these signs warned of hazards, rather than just stating distances or giving direction to places, acknowledging the fact that cyclists, like modern motorists, were unlikely to be familiar with the roads they were travelling along and were moving too fast to take avoiding action without prior warning.
It was the cycling lobby that successfully pressured the government in 1888 to vest ownership of and responsibility for roads in previously established highway districts with county councils. There they would be funded from taxation rather than tolls. The districts were active in the erection of semi-standardised directional signs and mileposts in the latter years of the 19th century.
Signs for motorists The Locomotives Act 1865 (popularly known as the "Red Flag Act") imposed a speed limit of 2 mph on motor vehicles in towns and 4 mph elsewhere and required a man to walk 60 yards ahead carrying a red flag. The Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act 1878 repealed the requirement for the man to carry a red flag, instead requiring him to walk at least twenty yards ahead to assist approaching horses and carriages. It retained the speed limits and empowered county councils to charge up to £10 for a licence to operate a locomotive on its roads.
The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896 deemed vehicles weighing less than 3 tons unladen to be carriages, thereby removing the restrictions on locomotives. A speed limit of 12 mph was imposed by regulations under the Act. This led to the rise of motoring after 1896. As with cyclists, the larger motoring clubs, notably The Automobile Association (AA) and the Royal Scottish Automobile Club (RSAC) erected their own, idiosyncratic warning boards and direction signs on a wide scale.
Most were removed at the outbreak of the Second World War. Some escaped, including the one illustrated. This is from the years after 1910, when the AA had merged with the Motor Union and before it dropped "& M.U." from its signs.
Motor Car Act 1903; national traffic signs The Motor Car Act 1903 further raised the speed limit for motor cars weighing less than 2 tons unladen to 20 mph. Local authorities could impose a limit of 10 mph "with a view to the safety of the public" and specify speed limits for vehicles weighing more than 2 tons. They already had powers to impose prohibitions and weight limits on roads and bridges using bye-laws.
In 1904 the Local Government Board (LGB) issued the Heavy Motor-car Order, which increased the maximum unladen weight for motor cars to 5 tons, or 6½ tons with a trailer. This allowed the development of commercial motor vehicles, including buses and coaches.
Accompanying the covering letter which the Secretary of the LGB sent to local authorities was an Appendix (see image). This set out recommendations from the County Councils Association and the Municipal Corporations Association for four patterns of road signs. The circular expressed support for the recommendations, saying that if Councils followed them, it wouldn't need to issue regulations.
Signs were to be set at least from the ground and, for caution signs, from their reference point.
Speed limit signs were only to be used where a local authority had imposed a limit, which had to be 10 mph or less. The plate beneath the white ring gave the speed limit, which applied only to motor vehicles: many cyclists could exceed 10 mph. It was customary for red bands to be painted on lamp standards, tram poles, etc. where a reduced speed limit was in force.Caution signs were warnings to motorists to slow down so that they could respond to the hazard ahead, whatever it was.
The diamond-shaped "other motor notices" were mainly placed to indicate weight and axle limits at bridges. Railway and canal companies used diamonds composed of two equilateral triangles, most with sides; local authorities used tilted squares.
The earliest signs, including the post, were made entirely of cast iron. Two examples survive: a prohibition disc at Overstrand, Norfolk; and a caution triangle at Harlington, London (see image).
By 1914, manufacturers were offering Caution signs with plates which could be attached to specify the hazard. These included Dangerous Corner and School. Sometimes they also had an exhortation, e.g. "Drive carefully".
1921 standardisation of road signs A review of signage by a committee under (later Sir) Henry Maybury led to the issuing in 1921 of a circular, Standardisation of Road Direction Posts and Warning Signs Form 39. This strongly recommended the use of standard plates beneath the shapes from 1904 (except the diamond, which was complete in itself).
Caution signs were redesignated as danger signs and eight rectangular plates 12" wide by 21" high were defined containing a symbol and a word or two of explanation beneath.
The symbols were based on those which had been developed in continental Europe from 1909, with Maybury insisting that the symbol would from now on "be regarded as the principal means of indicating the nature of the danger".
Six of the symbols (the other two were mirror images of the corner and double corner) are shown on the Advert for "Motor Sign Posts" of 1930 (see image).The least intuitive was the 'flaming torch of knowledge', which was used for School. It was superseded by a silhouette of children in 1957.
Another significant change was the introduction of name boards at the entry to towns and villages. In some places these were combined with the red triangle and an exhortation, as at Colwall, Herefordshire.
Section 7(4) of the Roads Act 1920 allowed local authorities to make orders restricting the use of highways to heavy motors. A Ministry Circular set out recommendations for prohibition signs with rectangular plates beneath a red disc (see image).
In the late 1920s, motorists needed to understand both the new, standardised and the old Caution signs. The other types of 1904 sign remained in use: white ring for a reduced speed limit; red disc for prohibition; white diamond for motor notices (weight limits on bridges).
From 1926, gyratory systems (i.e. one-way clockwise) started to come into use in urban squares and at complex junctions, e.g. Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner. Illuminated cast-glass signs were used in which the words "Turn Left - one way only" appeared in white on a blue background. Elsewhere, traffic was two-way around squares and junctions with a central feature, including roundabouts.
By the end of the 1920s, traffic lights had come into use in 50 towns and cities. The Ministry of Transport recommended a warning sign, Signals Ahead, which had a plate of the usual size depicting the signal head (with the lights coloured). This sign was surmounted not by a red triangle but a yellow disc with "WARNING" in black letters across it. This echoed the 12" yellow globes (predecessors of Belisha beacons) which were sometimes placed above traffic signals to make them more conspicuous.
The early 1930s
1930 Memorandum No. 291 (Roads) In 1930 the Minister of Transport issued a circular advising local authorities to use the following additional danger signs:
Road Junction (three types: T-junction; side roads to the left and right) (Level) Crossing No Gates (a 4-6-0 locomotive in steam) Dead Slow
The Dead Slow sign was the Cross Roads or T-junction sign with new text, surmounted by a red caution triangle inside a red ring. However, this didn't change the rules at the major road: the driver on it still had to "exercise due caution"
A sign, One-way Street, was introduced with an arrow pointing in the direction of flow. It was regarded as informatory, as much for pedestrians as motorists, rather than an instruction to those on the carriageway.
A circular white "P" sign on a blue plate was introduced to show Parking Places. There was (and is) no general right to park on highways. By 1930, local authorities were under pressure to provide parking facilities. They did this either by designating parts of particular roads as parking places (marked by triangular metal studs) or by creating separate facilities on other land. In London, Leeds, Glasgow and some other places, cars parked on the road had to be left unlocked so that they could be moved by hand. Another white-on-blue sign with an arrow and the words "To Car Park" pointed the way.
1930 Road Traffic Act; Maybury Committee The Road Traffic Act 1930 (RTA) reformed the regulation of motor vehicles and road traffic, It raised the default speed limits which the 1903 Motor Car Act had imposed, removing them completely from cars weighing less than 2½ tons.
The Government took powers to mandate the traffic signs to be used and empowered local authorities to erect them. A Departmental Committee was set up in 1931 under Sir Henry Maybury to report on their design.