Was the Hospital diamond ever in the MUTCD?

[bugo]

This sign dates from the '70s or earlier.  Was it actually in any MUTCD?  It was posted by the City of Mena, Arkansas.

[mjb2002]

This sign dates from the '70s or earlier.  Was it actually in any MUTCD?  It was posted by the City of Mena, Arkansas.

It probably was in the pre-1988 MUTCDs, but I have always known Hospital signs to be a blue perfect square, with an H in the middle.

[PurdueBill]

The blue H would serve a different purpose (trailblazer for route/direction to hospital) versus the diamond though (watch out for ambulances, runaway wheelchairs, pedestrians whose anesthesia hasn't totally worn off yet, etc.).

[bugo]

I'm unzombifying this thread.  Deal with it.

Does anybody else have any further information on the hospital sign?

Also, was this sign ever commonplace?  Was it in the MUTCD?

[mass_citizen]

I'm unzombifying this thread.  Deal with it.

Does anybody else have any further information on the hospital sign?

Also, was this sign ever commonplace?  Was it in the MUTCD?

I still occasionally see the hospital warning sign in advance of hospital entrances. I am not sure about the slow sign but I have seen it or something similar occasionally.

[Alps]

I'm unzombifying this thread.  Deal with it.

Does anybody else have any further information on the hospital sign?

Also, was this sign ever commonplace?  Was it in the MUTCD?

Definitely was not in the MUTCD, but older MUTCDs had many fewer warning signs than the current version. SLOW in a diamond probably was, and then the 15 MPH plaque beneath it, but the MUTCD also didn't have the kind of Federal enforcement it does now, so states created their own signs by and large.

[J N Winkler]

To answer Bugo's question, narrowly framed as "HOSPITAL" sign ever in MUTCD or equivalent national traffic control manual:

*  1929--Yes, as square "HOSPITAL ZONE" sign (probably used as a standalone sign); "CHURCH" is included too, also as a square sign

*  1930--No

*  1935--Yes, but only as a supplementary plate (probably used with the "SAFETY ZONE" diamond)

*  1961--No

*  1971--No

*  1978--No

*  1988--No

For purposes of this exercise, "in the MUTCD" has been taken to mean "diagrammed in the manual as a warning sign with the word 'HOSPITAL,'" regardless of whether the relevant edition has language supporting the use of warning signs that are not diagrammed but have custom text-only legends (a provision included in the most recent three editions of the MUTCD and probably in all MUTCDs or equivalent documents from the very beginning).  I didn't check the 1927, 1942, 1948, or 1952 editions.

[bugo]

It is likely a very rare sign these days.