British road signs

Road signs used in the United Kingdom conform broadly to European norms, though a number of signs are unique and direction signs omit European route numbers.

There is a vast range of signs in use on British roads, from directional sign posts, to signs warning of possible hazards ahead, and regulatory signs instructing motorists to perform certain actions.

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 and/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 travelling too fast to take avoiding action without prior warning. In addition, it was the cycling lobby that successfully pressured government in 1888 into vesting ownership of and responsibility for roads with county councils in previously established highway districts (HDs) that would be funded from taxation rather than tolls. The HDs were active in the erection of semi-standardised directional signs and mileposts in the latter years of the 19th century.

The rise of motoring after 1896 saw the pattern repeated. 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. In addition, under the Motor Car Act 1903, four national signs were created, supposed to be set at least 8 ft from the ground and 50 yards from the reference point. These signs were interesting in being based on shape, rather than text or image; a white ring (speed limited as marked on a small information plate below it); a white (sometimes red) diamond (a "motor notice" such as a weight restriction, given on a plate below); a red disc,(a prohibition); and a red, open triangle (a hazard or warning). These latter two could be given detail by the attachment of an information plate below, but often it was left to the motorist to guess what the sign was referring to and local variations as to the definition of what was a prohibition or just a "notice", for instance, were common. In spite of this confusing beginning, this format of sign was to develop into the British road sign that was standard from 1934 until 1964. Before this time, until 1933, when regulations for traffic signs were published under powers created by the Road Traffic Act 1930, "national" road signage specifications were only advisory.

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