Signs you would add to the MUTCD from outside North America

[cpzilliacus]

Some of these, adapted for North American use, would be great.

Priority road:

End priority road:


Begin urbanized area:

End urbanized area:


Begin motorway (or motorway entrance):

End motorway (or exiting motorway):


Jughandle ahead:


Toll road (or toll crossing):

[hotdogPi]

The "toll road" signage shows gold-colored coins. Very few people use dollar coins. Maybe two generic bills could be used.

[dfwmapper]

Any form of cash would be problematic with so many facilities moving to all-ETC.

[mariethefoxy]

That sign from Quebec with the Angry cloud

[Brandon]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

[cpzilliacus]

That sign from Quebec with the Angry cloud

I do admit to liking Old Man Winter (le bonhomme hiver?), and here's a European one that is supposed to convey the same thing:

[cpzilliacus]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Note that I said adapted.

I disagree regarding urban areas. Every state in the union has urbanized areas - the FHWA has maps of them as defined by the Census Bureau on its Web site.

[DaBigE]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Agreed, especially with how lazy non-roadgeek drivers are in the US. I could see unifying the existing urban limit signs in the US, but there's no need for a symbol. Lose the no left turn symbol on the jughandle sign and put a break or bridge symbol to indicate the lack of drivable connection at the crossing.

[TEG24601]

The Checkerboard Diamond "End of Road" sign from Canada.




There Permissible Turn in Green Circle from Canada.



End Speed Zone from the Vienna Countries

[Brandon]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Note that I said adapted.

I disagree regarding urban areas. Every state in the union has urbanized areas - the FHWA has maps of them as defined by the Census Bureau on its Web site.

Not really all that good as many municipalities tend to annex and build rather quickly.  And area can go from rural to suburban within a year or two.  Anyway, a simple speed limit change should be more than sufficient.  We, in North America, do not have standardized speed limits for freeways, rural highways, and urban streets they same way they do in Europe.

[cpzilliacus]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Note that I said adapted.

I disagree regarding urban areas. Every state in the union has urbanized areas - the FHWA has maps of them as defined by the Census Bureau on its Web site.

Not really all that good as many municipalities tend to annex and build rather quickly.  And area can go from rural to suburban within a year or two.  Anyway, a simple speed limit change should be more than sufficient.  We, in North America, do not have standardized speed limits for freeways, rural highways, and urban streets they same way they do in Europe.

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, most growth is in unincorporated areas (absolutely no townships and no boroughs - and relatively little annexation where there are municipalities), and municipal boundaries (where they exist) frequently have no relationship to where urbanized areas begin and end.

[Brandon]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Note that I said adapted.

I disagree regarding urban areas. Every state in the union has urbanized areas - the FHWA has maps of them as defined by the Census Bureau on its Web site.

Not really all that good as many municipalities tend to annex and build rather quickly.  And area can go from rural to suburban within a year or two.  Anyway, a simple speed limit change should be more than sufficient.  We, in North America, do not have standardized speed limits for freeways, rural highways, and urban streets they same way they do in Europe.

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, most growth is in unincorporated areas (absolutely no townships and no boroughs - and relatively little annexation where there are municipalities), and municipal boundaries (where they exist) frequently have no relationship to where urbanized areas begin and end.

In the Midwest, we have far more aggressive annexation by municipalities.  In some areas, it's to the point where, here in Illinois, we have some municipalities that have annexed hundreds of acres of farmland with little more than corn and soybeans.

Example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.562781,-88.352807,3a,75y,120.95h,81.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfyepfBhcDsi7ANOuzEU_zw!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

Completely rural, but 3 of those 4 corners are in the City of Joliet.

Zoning map, showing all within the municipal boundaries: http://www.cityofjoliet.info/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=1539

Now, where do you place the "urban area" signage?  At the municipal boundary?  At the edge of the census area?  At the edge of noticeable development?  The idea of a European edge of urban area is kind of silly here.

[Bruce]

Honestly, I don't think any of those European signs really work all that great.  We don't have priority roads here.  The toll one looks like he's/she's handing you coins.  The motorway ones just appear to be two lines under a bridge, which really doesn't mean much.  And the urban area ones make no sense in a North American context.  The only sign that might be decipherable is the jughandle one.

Note that I said adapted.

I disagree regarding urban areas. Every state in the union has urbanized areas - the FHWA has maps of them as defined by the Census Bureau on its Web site.

Not really all that good as many municipalities tend to annex and build rather quickly.  And area can go from rural to suburban within a year or two.  Anyway, a simple speed limit change should be more than sufficient.  We, in North America, do not have standardized speed limits for freeways, rural highways, and urban streets they same way they do in Europe.

Well, at least some states (like Washington and Oregon) can use their urban growth boundaries. For example, I'd place Seattle's boundary signs on I-5 at Smokey Point and maybe Tumwater (if including Olympia).

[briantroutman]

I've never liked the approach of using a diagonal slash to mean "end" . To me, this sign says "no freeway"  not "end of freeway" .

End motorway (or exiting motorway):

[Revive 755]

Some of these, adapted for North American use, would be great.

Priority road:

Looks too much like a caution sign where the text has faded/fallen off, or an object marker, particularly OM1-3.  I'd rather see some other design used if the US every went for a priority road/this movement doesn't stop sign - maybe a blank green circle, or an upward pointing arrow.

There Permissible Turn in Green Circle from Canada.

Better IMHO to stick with the current US practice of having the turn being legal unless signed otherwise, or using the lane control (R3-6) signs

[Brian556]

The one from Europe that uses a thicker line to show that the road that has right-of-way turns at an intersection. These are used in non-standard right-of-way situations.

[getemngo]

The one from Europe that uses a thicker line to show that the road that has right-of-way turns at an intersection. These are used in non-standard right-of-way situations.

I was starting to write about this when you posted! You're talking about this one:



That would make a lot of sense, as there's no clear way to indicate this in the United States. I've seen awkwardly phrased signs from the leg of the intersection that has to stop (e.g. "Cross and opposing traffic does not stop", "Traffic from left does not stop"), but a symbol is so much more concise. I have also seen the leg that does not have to stop given a permanent flashing yellow arrow - on the above sign, that would be traffic coming from the top leg and going to the right leg. But that predates the modern FYA traffic signal and does not mean the same thing, which is confusing. MDOT has probably, somewhere, put a flashing yellow ball under a "LEFT" sign to achieve the same effect. 

You could also use a diagram like Quebec's all-way stop sign:



...though obviously putting a stop sign only on the legs that stop.

[jakeroot]

At some point, we're going to have to move away from text signs. As of now, 1 in 5 Americans do not speak English as their primary language, and with the number of immigrants moving in from nearby countries and those across the ponds, I don't see that number declining.

Many citizens from other countries, chiefly the Chinese, have been very interested in Canada. But with Canada tightening up their border just recently, many of these immigrants are now interested in the US. Given this, I would expect our immigrant population to grow faster than it has in a long time, and with it, the number of aliens who perhaps don't speak English.

As for now, we could start posting all sorts of interesting signs with odd diagrams. All you have to do is post a supplementary plaque, and with time, the seemingly odd signs will develop a meaning. Take the motorway signs*. They seem odd to us, but they make perfect sense to Europeans, because they're used to them.

*I like the motorway signs, but they have stronger meaning in Europe. Most of Europe has motorway restrictions, and while there are restrictions on US freeways, they are far less numerous. In the US, they are best fit to replace "Freeway Entrance" (IMO).

[SignGeek101]

At some point, we're going to have to move away from text signs. As of now, 1 in 5 Americans do not speak English as their primary language, and with the number of immigrants moving in from nearby countries and those across the ponds, I don't see that number declining.

What about metric vs US customary signage? Don't want to open that up again, but if a large group of people move to the US, either they have to learn, or the country has to adapt, or both. Units of measure are just as important as making signage more recognizable to those who don't speak English well IMO.

[jakeroot]

At some point, we're going to have to move away from text signs. As of now, 1 in 5 Americans do not speak English as their primary language, and with the number of immigrants moving in from nearby countries and those across the ponds, I don't see that number declining.

What about metric vs US customary signage? Don't want to open that up again, but if a large group of people move to the US, either they have to learn, or the country has to adapt, or both. Units of measure are just as important as making signage more recognizable to those who don't speak English well IMO.

I am the last person who'd support the imperial system presently in use. Any sort of major overhaul to MUTCD signage should come along with metric units.

[dfwmapper]

I, for one, am looking forward to a nice battle over the metric system, as a welcome break from the serious problems American society faces.

[national highway 1]

I'd like these signs to be included in the MUTCD, as Australia combines the use of the FHWA fonts with British-styled signage, and also making their own custom spec signage.

Another batch of Aussie neologisms.
AD, Advance Directional Sign, used for advance signange at upcoming major intersections

A diagrammatical AD sign used with arrows that show where the lanes go

ID, Intersection Directional Signs, used for signage at the intersection itself
Newer signage incorporates the road name patch into the sign itself.

RD, Reassurance Directional Signs also called distance signs.

Fork signs, used on freeways

Fingerboards, used on many rural highways showing the distance to the nearest towns.

Double-Chevron Signs, a modern variant to the the fingerboard

Kilometre plates, used at 5km intervals on rural highways, with the town's intial at the top. The E stands for Euston. Usually towns with the same first letter have an additional letter to differentiate between the two.

[riiga]

I've never liked the approach of using a diagonal slash to mean "end" . To me, this sign says "no freeway"  not "end of freeway" .

End motorway (or exiting motorway):

Maybe something like this instead then?

Some of these, adapted for North American use, would be great.

Priority road:

Looks too much like a caution sign where the text has faded/fallen off, or an object marker, particularly OM1-3.  I'd rather see some other design used if the US every went for a priority road/this movement doesn't stop sign - maybe a blank green circle, or an upward pointing arrow.

Perhaps add "PRIORITY" to the sign? It's a pretty much universally recognized sign, and I doubt it will be confused with warning signs once it has been in use for a little while.


I'd really like the US to adopt the most important designs in the Vienna Convention as seen in the same image above with the crosswalk sign, priority over another vehicle on a one-lane road, etc. And maybe the biggest change would come in the changing of speed limit signs to add the red circle and the addition of proper mandatory signage.




The rest of the world could also embrace American signage. 

[cpzilliacus]

At some point, we're going to have to move away from text signs. As of now, 1 in 5 Americans do not speak English as their primary language, and with the number of immigrants moving in from nearby countries and those across the ponds, I don't see that number declining.

I think you may be correct about that.

Many citizens from other countries, chiefly the Chinese, have been very interested in Canada. But with Canada tightening up their border just recently, many of these immigrants are now interested in the US. Given this, I would expect our immigrant population to grow faster than it has in a long time, and with it, the number of aliens who perhaps don't speak English.

Though they should be strongly encouraged to learn English.

As for now, we could start posting all sorts of interesting signs with odd diagrams. All you have to do is post a supplementary plaque, and with time, the seemingly odd signs will develop a meaning. Take the motorway signs*. They seem odd to us, but they make perfect sense to Europeans, because they're used to them.

It reminds me a little of Caltrans practice of putting the letters "Fwy" next to a route shield.

*I like the motorway signs, but they have stronger meaning in Europe. Most of Europe has motorway restrictions, and while there are restrictions on US freeways, they are far less numerous. In the US, they are best fit to replace "Freeway Entrance" (IMO).

I have stated more than once how much I like the Caltrans "FREEWAY ENTRANCE" assemblies for an assortment of reasons.

[cpzilliacus]

I've never liked the approach of using a diagonal slash to mean "end" . To me, this sign says "no freeway"  not "end of freeway" .

End motorway (or exiting motorway):

Maybe something like this instead then?

This would actually be pretty consistent with North American MUTCD signage, especially since black-on-white rectangles are supposed to be regulatory in nature, and END FREEWAY (or END MOTORWAY) is conveying regulatory information.