REVIEWING THE IRISH TRAFFIC SIGNS MANUAL Peter Harman Faber Maunsell 1. INTRODUCTION The Republic of Ireland is located at the north western corner of Europe. With a population of just over 4 million, it currently enjoys the second highest economic growth in Europe, due to its commitment to international markets and trade, and increases in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. With unemployment at 4%, the lowest since 1982, it’s a good place to live and work in. It’s also a pretty nice place for a holiday! Unlike its neighbours in the United Kingdom, it has embraced its membership of the EU by adopting the Euro as its currency, and more recently Ireland introduced metric speed limits in place of the imperial limits. Traffic signs in the Republic, like the country itself, have a very international flavour. However, just to keep foreign drivers guessing, they still drive on the left. Some signs conform to the Vienna Convention, some to signing practice in the UK, and some to the USA or Australia. Although everyday use of Gaelic is limited to a minority of geographical areas, bilingual direction signing exists throughout the Republic, and the idiosyncratic NO ENTRY sign appears to be unique to Ireland, although its unambiguous clarity begs the question “Why doesn’t the rest of the world change their signs?” In the mid-1990s the Department of the Environment, in conjunction with the National Roads Authority, compiled a document – the Traffic Signs Manual – that provided a comprehensive set of standards and guidance for the design and layout of traffic signs and road markings. This was intended to provide a single source document that contained every approved sign and road marking. In July 2004 the Department of Transport commissioned the Roughan O’Donovan/Faber Maunsell Alliance to review the existing standards in comparison to good practice elsewhere in the world, prepare revised guidelines and draft a new document by the end of 2005. The Traffic Signs Manual is split into 10 Chapters, and my specific involvement was in Chapters 5 and 7 – “Regulatory Signs” and “Road Markings”. As part of my work, I collected and compared regulatory signing practice in Europe and around the world, and this paper shares my findings, and shows how the research has enabled us to rationalise the approach to regulatory signing. My paper may also provide a starting point for discussions on the merits of the adoption of pan-European standards in the spirit of the Vienna Convention.
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2. THE VIENNA CONVENTION The objective of the 1968 Vienna Convention was to introduce ‘international uniformity of road signs, signals and symbols and of road markings”, intended to “…facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety”. However, stylistically there is an almost infinite variety of designs that may be adopted under the Convention. Vienna Convention – Warning Signs
Type Aa
Type Ab
The Convention recommends a standard logic for road sign design, but then offers alternatives. For example, in most of Europe warning signs are triangular, type Aa, usually with a white background. However, in some countries |(generally where snow is prevalent) a yellow background is used at all times, in others only for signs warning of dangers associated with temporary works. The Convention also allows use of the yellow diamond shape, type Ab, for warning signs.
With regard to regulatory signs, the Convention is equally non-prescriptive. Although the shape of the sign is expressly circular, the background may be white, yellow or (in the case of restrictions on stopping and parking) blue. The border must be red, but the use of an oblique red bar to signify a prohibition is optional in most cases. 3. THE LOGIC OF SHAPES AND COLOURS Regulatory signs give instructions that must be followed by drivers. There are specific shape and colour combinations that are used for certain types of regulatory sign: •
Circular signs signify restrictions or requirements.
•
Solid blue discs are generally mandatory – they give positive instructions, such as “You must turn right” or “Use by cyclists and pedestrians only”.
•
Red-bordered white discs are restrictive or prohibitive, “You must not exceed 60kph” or “No right turn”. However, the use of a diagonal bar to signify a prohibition or restriction has always been a contentious issue.
•
The shape and colours used for STOP and GIVE WAY signs are recognised internationally.
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4. INTERNATIONAL SIMILARITIES Because of the latitude allowed under the Vienna Convention, there are a surprisingly small number of signs that are standard throughout Europe. The STOP and GIVE WAY signs are internationally recognised. Although regional variations exist, the unique shapes of these signs mean that drivers are immediately aware of their meaning, even if the language used on the sign or on supplementary plates is unfamiliar. Speed limit signs are another European constant – a white disc with red border and black numbers. Except in the UK where we cling to the imperial mile, maximum speeds are given in kilometres per hour. At the beginning of this year Ireland changed from imperial to metric speed limits, and during a hectic couple of weeks in January, 35,000 existing signs were replaced and a further 23,000 new signs erected bearing the speed limit in kilometres per hour. To avoid confusion with the old signs, each speed limit sign now has ‘km/h’ beneath the numerals. To put this in context, 58,000 signs at an average diameter of 750mm represents over 32,000 square metres of aluminium, enough to cover 160 tennis courts, on 105km of poles, that’s 1800 Nelson’s Columns, 320 Eiffel Towers or 12 times the height of Mount Everest! 5
NATIONAL DIFFERENCES
As mentioned earlier, since the 1960’s, instead of the more usual white and red triangle, Ireland has used yellow diamond-shaped warning signs. Although this complies with the Vienna Convention (type Ab) it is probably the main signing issue that stands out to drivers from elsewhere in Europe. When a warning sign relates to a temporary situation, in other words road works, orange is used instead of yellow. Despite the differing shapes and colours, the pictograms used within the signs generally correspond with those used elsewhere, so the message is usually clear (although even now some people don’t understand the subtle difference between a diamond and a square). Some examples of stylistic interpretation can be quite interesting – the motorcyclist in some countries is very dashing with his scarf billowing behind him, while car silhouettes vary from simple icons to artistic representations of the golden age of motoring! Again, if it is clear what the symbol is intended to represent, it doesn’t really matter.
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The red disk with horizontal white bar denoting NO ENTRY is an almost global constant, and can be seen in various contexts throughout the world. However, the Vienna Convention allows a variation – the NO STRAIGHT AHEAD sign – which as far as I can determine is used only in the Republic of Ireland to denote NO ENTRY.
Mandatory signs, those giving instructions, are white arrows on blue discs in virtually every European country. As recently as the 1990’s Ireland had a different type of mandatory sign for KEEP LEFT, a black arrow on white disc with red border, and although these were superseded by the 1996 Traffic Signs Manual, quite recent examples can still be found. The newer mandatory signs are almost all identical to those used in the UK, except that for some reason the arrow style adopted for the TURN LEFT (and RIGHT) AHEAD signs is slightly different.
Stylistic differences exist for prohibitory signs too. In most cases these make little or no difference, as in the case of the NO LEFT TURN and NO RIGHT TURN signs, where the message is obvious and readily understood, and the chosen variant is very much a matter of aesthetics.
There are some regional variations that can give misleading or ambiguous messages to drivers. For example, a driver from Athens, used to the Greek NO MOTOR VEHICLES sign which incorporates a diagonal bar, may think that the UK equivalent with no red diagonal means the opposite. Similarly a driver from Dublin may be confused when encountering a NO OVERTAKING sign elsewhere in Europe (particularly if he happens to be driving a red car). ‘NO MOTOR VEHICLES’
Greece
UK
‘NO OVERTAKING’
Ireland
Italy
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What is imperative is that any sign, and its variants, should be instantly understood. This is particularly important when worded signs are replaced by pictograms or other types of graphical representation. A BEND warning sign with a supplementary plate bearing the legend ‘200m’ should suggest that the road will bend in 200 metres. However, an identical plate beneath a regulatory sign, say NO OVERTAKING, is less clear – does the prohibition exist in 200m or for the next 200m? In Switzerland and elsewhere, there are two distinct types of supplementary plate specified – the ‘Distance Plate’ and the ‘Duration Plate’ – which can be used to clarify which meaning is intended. A very unscientific test with 30 of my work colleagues suggests that a programme of public education would be required to ensure that road users were familiar with the differing meanings of these two signs. 6
SETTING THE STANDARDS
Our primary task was to develop a standardised system of Regulatory signing for the Irish Republic. With the increasing level of non-Irish drivers, it was essential that the signing should be clear, concise and understandable to all. This involved some fairly concentrated examination of specific types of sign: 6.1
The Diagonal Bar - Limit or Ban?
To devise a logic for regulatory signs, we examined the circumstances where diagonal red bars were used to signify a prohibition. SPEED LIMITS never have a diagonal bar, NO LEFT TURN always has a bar – is there a logic that could be used to determine whether or not the bar should be used? Signs that always have bars (and in fact would become less easily understood if the bar was omitted) are the NO LEFT TURN, NO RIGHT TURN and NO U-TURN signs. In Ireland the NO OVERTAKING and NO STRAIGHT AHEAD (NO ENTRY) signs also have a bar. And of course the NO PARKING sign, albeit on a blue, rather than white, background (except in Ireland). The common factor of all these signs is that they prohibit a traffic movement or activity. All other prohibitory signs effectively set a limit, be it on vehicle dimensions, weights or speeds, or on classes of user. The Vienna Convention gives the choice of whether or not to incorporate a diagonal bar on signs prohibiting classes of user. It would therefore seem logical that the bar should be used to indicate a prohibited movement or activity, and signs indicating a limit should not contain the bar.
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6.2
The Exception to the Rule - The NO OVERTAKING Sign In every EU country except Ireland, this consists of a white disc with red border, containing a black car symbol on the nearside, and a red car symbol on the offside. The overtaking vehicle can be varied to indicate NO OVERTAKING BY LORRIES, and the END sign is an all-grey version of the sign with a diagonal grey cancellation bar through it. However, in Ireland both vehicles are shown as black, with an eccentric red diagonal bar that cuts through the overtaking vehicle symbol. Whilst this is a reasonable alternative, it does not conform to the Vienna Convention. It also makes the END variant messy and difficult to read, and the bilingual requirements means that worded END plates are large and unwieldy.
Although the existing sign complies with the logic that banned manoeuvres should be indicated with a diagonal bar, if the need for clear termination signs is more important then adoption of the European standard would be sensible. Again, the public’s familiarity with the existing sign would require extensive publicity should a modified design be introduced. 6.3
Parking Control
Parking in urban areas is frequently subject to control, either by prohibition or restriction. The Vienna Convention allows a high degree of flexibility for parking control signs. No-one wants to get a parking ticket. With the wide variation in signing for parking restrictions it is only too easy for visitors to a country to misinterpret a restriction, and have to pay the penalty. However, the wide range of standards adopted throughout Europe fails to point to a consensus system that would be universally understood. Our main criterion therefore was that any changes should produce signs that could be easily interpreted 6.3.1 Prohibited Parking Although the familiar blue disc with red border and diagonal bar has become the standard NO PARKING sign throughout Europe, Ireland uses the permitted variant of a white background and black ‘P’ symbol. The NO STOPPING sign has similarly lost its blue background in favour of white.
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In Ireland, as in the UK, these signs are supplemented by a system of yellow lines at the edge of the road. A double yellow line needs no other sign, as its meaning is always ‘No waiting at any time’. Prohibitions that only apply for parts of the day, or for specific days of the week, are indicated by single yellow lines, and the signs are provided with supplementary plates giving the periods of prohibition. In some parts of Europe, as in Ireland, the NO PARKING or NO STOPPING symbol is used as a full-sized sign, with supplementary plates to define the periods during which parking is controlled. Elsewhere, the parking signs have been reduced to small symbols incorporated into regulatory plates. The Italian system, for example, enables details of prohibitions and restrictions on parking to be integrated into a single sign plate, reducing street clutter. A similar system in the UK uses coloured backgrounds to distinguish between prohibitions and restrictions on parking, and the NO PARKING symbol is reduced in size even more.
In Australia, the combining of various parking restrictions and prohibitions has resulted in signs that can be very complicated and difficult to understand
In many mainland countries in Europe, a fullsize 600mm NO PARKING roundel is used to indicate prohibited parking from the sign location to the next road junction on the same side of the road. Supplementary plates are sometimes used to indicate the extent and/or direction of the prohibition. This can be overused in certain circumstances
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6.3.2 Permitted Parking Where the Irish system deviates markedly from practice elsewhere in Europe is in its PARKING PERMITTED sign. The Irish sign is not really appropriate as a permissive sign, as it has the appearance of a prohibitory sign – a white disc with red border. The Vienna Convention stipulates a blue rectangle with white ‘P’ (or appropriate letter or ideogram) to denote PARKING PERMITTED, and this has been adopted by the majority of countries in Europe. In Ireland this is currently used only to indicate off-street parking. Except within a Controlled Parking Zone, by inference any section of road not subject to a parking prohibition is available for parking at all times unless otherwise signed. Hence the ‘P’ symbol is unlikely to be found on-street as a stand-alone sign, rather where a restriction on parking exists, for example maximum duration of stay, or where disc, ticket or meter parking applies. 6.3.3 Recommendations The existing Irish NO PARKING and NO STOPPING symbols closely resemble those elsewhere in Europe, and we have recommended that these should be retained in the interests of cost and public familiarity. However, we have recommended that the white ‘P’ symbol on a blue rectangular background should be adopted in Ireland as a symbol to be incorporated in rectangular information plates defining restrictions on on-street parking. We have also recommended that a more compact form of signing should be adopted for all new signing, making the size of the regulatory symbols much smaller. This will limit the cost of each sign, as well as reducing the level of sign clutter. It will be important to consult with all bodies responsible for parking prohibitions and restrictions, in order to agree the required signing necessary for all possible permutations of restrictions and prohibitions that are likely to be required. The new Traffic Signs Manual will include details of sign sizes and siting (range of recommended text heights, repeaters required, and at what spacing) and 3-D drawings of examples of correct practice. The requirement for associated road markings, such as yellow lines and parking bays, will also be clarified.
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7
CHANGE FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGE?
My brief was to examine European practice for regulatory signs, and recommend a best practice solution for the Republic of Ireland. As you have seen, despite (or perhaps because of) the Vienna Convention, there are numerous differences between signing practice in Ireland and Europe, and indeed numerous regional variations within mainland Europe itself. Most of the time, regional variations are insignificant to the function of the signs, and can even contribute to the individual national identities of the roadscape. How boring to drive from, say, Paris to Athens and be unaware that you are passing through several countries. This made me question if it was essential that identical signs should be used everywhere, or whether a degree of regional variation was acceptable, even desirable. There is a saying: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”. In other words, don’t dispose of what is important when discarding what is not needed. Whilst we were looking at ways to improve Ireland’s signing, we came upon elements which may not conform to common European practice but nevertheless performed their function well. Rather than changing them for the sake of conformity, we have adopted a pragmatic approach that retains many of the Irish signs and symbols. Where change has been proposed, this has been to achieve a purpose, not to conform to a specific standard. The definition of the ‘Shape Logic’ for regulatory signs provides an easily-understood template for regulatory signing. The revised parking restriction signs will facilitate the provision of complex combinations of waiting and loading prohibitions and restrictions with minimal sign clutter. Most of all, we have not gravitated towards a ‘European Average’ – ‘Average’ is not an ambitious aspiration, it’s better than 50%, but worse than the other 50%. My hope is that when the Traffic Signs Manual is finally published it will provide clear, concise guidance to a straightforward system of signing, and be significantly ‘Better than Average’.
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