Road signs in the United Kingdom
Road signs in the United Kingdom and in its associated Crown dependencies and overseas territories conform broadly to European design norms, with a number of exceptions: direction signs omit European route numbers, and road signs generally use the imperial units, unlike the rest of Europe. Signs in Wales and parts of Scotland are bilingual.
A range of signs are used on British roads, such as motorway signs, warning signs and regulatory signs.
The United Kingdom signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals on 8 November 1968 but has yet to fully ratify it.
History
Early traffic signs
Milestones and direction markersThe Romans used milestones, some of which survive, notably on Stanegate beside Hadrian's Wall.
File:Roman_milestone_by_the_Stanegate_at_Chesterholm_.jpg|thumb|Roman milestone by the Stanegate at Chesterholm
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.
File:Old_Milestone_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1493977.jpg|thumb|Milestone II of the set erected 1728-1732 between Cambridge and Barkway
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than addressing travellers There are about twenty of these notices in Dorset.The Malicious Injuries to Property Act was repealed in 1861, the same year as the Locomotive Act 1861 was passed.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 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. 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 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, the National Cyclists' Union and the Scottish Cyclists' Union. 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 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 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 and the Royal Scottish Automobile Club 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 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. 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.
The earliest signs, including the post, were made entirely of cast iron. Surviving examples are a , Norfolk and a , London.
Speed limit signs were only used where the limit was less than the 20 mph maximum. The plate beneath the white ring gave the speed limit in mph, sometimes stating explicitly that it 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 the 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. 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".File:Old_Bridge_sign_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1560679.jpg|thumb|Diamond-shaped Motor Notice at Goathland, North Yorkshire placed by the North Eastern Railway Company
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 with sides; local authorities used tilted squares. With the exception of the GWR, where the name didn't change at Grouping, the railway companies named appear always to be Pre-grouping i.e. before 1923.
1921 standardisation of road signs
A review of signage by a committee under 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.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 are shown on the Advert for "Motor Sign Posts" of 1930.
The least intuitive was the 'flaming torch of knowledge', which was used for School. It was superseded by a silhouette of children in 1957.
File:Old roadsign, Blackawton.jpg|thumb|left|upright|1933-style "Torch of Knowledge" sign at Main Street, Blackawton, Devon
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 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.
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.
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. Uniquely, 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 which were sometimes placed above traffic signals to make them more conspicuous.
Roundabouts were also beginning to be used, especially where roads met in more complex ways than cross roads. To impose structure on vehicle movements, a "keep left" rule was imposed with clockwise motion around the central island. This was shaped to fit the geography and could consist of a mixture of straights and fairly tight bends. Deflection on entry and flowing exits were 40 years in the future, as was the rule "give way to traffic on the roundabout".