Road Signs - Road Safety
This Road Safety awareness week we are talking about everything that can help keep us safe on the roads. Starting with road signs and markings.
Whether we’re acknowledging them frequently or not, road signs indicate to us how to behave as drivers or when we should expect hazards, which is why we have decided to write about them due to their great contribution to road safety.
Some of the most familiar include, lane widths, line markings, road studs, traffic cones and even lamp post separation.
Road signs and markings have been around for a long time in one form or another - road signs have been used since the Roman Empire. By building a system of roads, tunnels, and bridges from Portugal to Constantinople, the Romans were able to move armies faster and bring in more people and goods. In the beginning, milestones would give information such as who owns this area of road and the repairs that had been made. However, moving forward into the 1800’s road signs became more popular as people started to ride bikes. It was in the 19th century when people started to drive vehicles that road signs became the most significant.
As you can imagine, during the first half of the twentieth century, UK road signs were uncoordinated. The Road Traffic Act 1930 gave some standardized specifications. However, during the second world war navigational signs were removed as to deter potential invasions. After the 1950’s stick-on reflective plastic applied to aluminium sheets replaced the cast metal signs.
In 1957 Jock kinneir and Margaret Calvert (graphic designers) were appointed to refresh the design, this is when the systemic approach to road signs which we see today was first in introduced. Accounting for speed, both designers looked at sign readability, ensuring the size and spacing of text was readable at speed from sufficient distance to make timely and safe decisions.
Road signs became much more consistent nationwide, they would even account for the configuration of roundabouts, road works ahead or a nearby school equally well.
Signs communicate relevant information to a driver, but technology is changing this requirement. Sat-nav systems offer drivers directional guidance without navigation signs. A lot of newer vehicles are equipped with built in maps/navigation systems. However, technological navigation system can’t replace the immediacy of relevant information physically presented in the visual field of the driver.
The innovation of Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert is a system that is sure to stick around for a long time. You can find out more about Road Safe Week here.