Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Difference between revisions

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In January 1927, the [[American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials|American Association of State Highway Officials]] (AASHO) published the ''Manual and Specifications for the Manufacture, Display, and Erection of U.S. Standard Road Markers and Signs'' to set standards for traffic control devices used on rural roads.<ref name="NCHRPReport484">{{cite book |last1 = Hawkins |first1 = H. Gene |last2 = Parham |first2 = Angelia H. |last3 = Womack |first3 = Katie N. |title = NCHRP Report 484: Feasibility Study for an All-White Pavement Marking System |date = 2002 |publisher = Transportation Research Board |___location = Washington, DC |pages = A-1—A-7 |url = http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_484.pdf |access-date = August 10, 2020 |chapter = Appendix A: Evolution of U.S. Pavement Marking System }}</ref> Despite the title, this manual did not have any guidance on pavement markings.<ref name="NCHRPReport484"/> In the archaic [[American English]] of the 1920s, the term "road marker" was sometimes used to describe traffic control devices which modern speakers would now call "signs."<ref name="NCHRPReport484" /> In 1930, the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety (NCSHS) published the ''Manual on Street Traffic Signs, Signals, and Markings'', which set similar standards for urban settings, but also added specific guidance on traffic signals, pavement markings, and safety zones.<ref name="NCHRPReport484" /> Although the two manuals were quite similar, both organizations immediately recognized that the existence of two slightly different manuals was unnecessarily awkward, and in 1931 AASHO and NCSHS formed a Joint Committee to develop a uniform standard for both urban streets and rural roads. This standard was the MUTCD.<ref name="Johnson" />

[[File:Mutcd cover 1935.jpg|thumb|150px|Cover of the 1937 typeset reprint of the first edition of the MUTCD published in 1935]]

The original edition of the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' was published in 1935.<ref name="Johnson" /><ref name="Hawkins">{{cite journal |last1=Hawkins |first1=Gene |title=88 Years of MUTCD Editions: How the New MUTCD Evolved |journal=ITE Journal |date=April 2024 |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=24-25 |url=https://ite.ygsclicbook.com/pubs/itejournal/2024/april-2024/live/index.html#p=24}}</ref> It was only 166 pages long and it was published as a [[Mimeograph|mimeographed]] document.<ref name="Hawkins" /> In 1937, the manual was republished, this time as a typeset document.<ref name="Hawkins" />

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The tenth edition of the MUTCD was published in 2009, with revisions in 2012.<ref name="2012revisions">{{cite web |last1 = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Change List for Revision Numbers 1 and 2, Dated May 2012, to the 2009 Edition of the MUTCD |year = 2012 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |url = https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009r1r2/mutcd2009r1r2cl.htm |access-date = May 9, 2021 }}</ref> This was the first editing to feature numbering of individual paragraphs and to cover traffic control devices on private property.<ref name="Hawkins" />

The [[Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act]]&nbsp;(IIJA) of 2021 requiresrequired the USDOT to update the MUTCD quadrennially,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/mutcd11status.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306074815/https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/mutcd11status.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2022 |title=Status of Rulemaking for the Eleventh Edition of the MUTCD |date=March 2, 2022 |access-date=March 2, 2023 |publisher=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref> and the eleventh edition was released in 2023.<ref name="Woodhouse">{{cite news |last1=Woodhouse |first1=Skylar |title=Rules of the Road Get a Long-Awaited Update in the US |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-19/us-roadbuilding-bible-gets-update-as-pedestrian-deaths-rise |access-date=December 20, 2023 |work=Bloomberg |date=December 19, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/fhwa-releases-new-traffic-control-device-manual-updates-improve-safety-pedestrians |title=FHWA Releases New Traffic Control Device Manual with Updates to Improve Safety for Pedestrians, Bicyclists, and All Road Users |date=December 19, 2023 |access-date=December 27, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation}}</ref> This edition allowsallowed painted red bus lanes, rules allowing more crosswalks and traffic signals, new rules for determining speed limits, signage for shoulders that are used part-time as traffic lanes, and new signage for [[electric vehicle charging station]]s and [[autonomous vehicle]]s.<ref name="2023_revision_final" /> It also addsadded painted green bike lanes, bike boxes, and bike-specific traffic lights. Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) were also added to the MUTCD; a pedestrian beacon for uncontrolled intersections consisting of two rectangular lights, side-by-side, which alternate flashing, under a yellow diamond with a walking person on it, above an arrow pointing out the crosswalk.<ref name="2023_revision_final">[https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-27178.pdf RIN 2125-AF85 National Standards for Traffic Control Devices; the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways; Revision], III. Summary of the Major Provisions of the Regulatory Action in Question</ref> RRFBs were previously on interim approval by FHWA since March 20, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=January 12, 2024 |title=Interim Approval 21 – Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons at Crosswalks - Interim Approvals Issued by FHWA |url=https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/resources/interim_approval/ia21/index.htm |website=MUTCD |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> Transportation safety advocates criticized the changes as not going far enough to deal with a substantial spike in pedestrian fatalities, especially guidance setting speed limits [[85th percentile speed|based on the 85th percentile of actual driving speeds]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/12/31/1222174861/road-street-design-traffic-mutcd |title=The rules of the road are changing, but not fast enough for everyone |date=December 31, 2023 |author=Joel Rose}}</ref><ref>[https://t4america.org/2023/12/20/press-statement-newly-updated-mutcd-doesnt-go-far-enough-to-protect-pedestrians/ Press statement: Newly updated MUTCD doesn’t go far enough to protect pedestrians]</ref><ref>[https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/12/19/feds-advocates-talk-about-whats-in-the-new-mutcd-and-what-isnt Feds, Advocates Talk About What’s In The New MUTCD (And What Isn’t)!]</ref>

== Development ==

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===Central America===

{{Main articles|Road signs in Central America}}

For road signs in Central American countries, the [[Central American Integration System]] (SICA) publishes its own {{lang|es|Manual Centroamericano de Dispositivos Uniformes para el Control del Transito}}, a Central American equivalent to the US MUTCD.<ref name="SIECA">{{cite web |url=https://irp.cdn-website.com/6813ed2d/files/uploaded/SIECA%202014.pdf |title=''Manual Centroamericano de Dispositivos Uniformes para el Control del Transito 2014'' |publisher=SIECA |language=es |access-date=3 January 2024}}</ref> Of the SICA countries, only Costa Rica has signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.<ref name=":0" />

==== Belize ====