Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:18, 19 January 2025

Revision as of 14:19, 19 January 2025

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| footer = The draw bridge warning sign (left) is one of the several signs under the MUTCD that remain{{when|date=January 2024}} text-only, while its equivalent under the Vienna Convention (right) displays a symbol of an open draw bridge.

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The U.S. adoption of several Vienna Convention-inspired symbol signs during the 1970s was a failure. For example, the lane drop symbol sign was criticized as baffling to U.S. drivers—who saw a "big milk bottle"—and therefore quite dangerous, since by definition it was supposed to be used in situations where drivers were about to run out of road and needed to merge into another lane immediately.<ref name="Conniff">{{cite news |last1 = Conniff |first1 = James C.G. |title = Danger: Signs Ahead |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/30/archives/danger-signs-ahead-misleading-highway-signs-raise-blood-pressure.html |access-date = August 19, 2020 |work = The New York Times |date = March 30, 1975 |page = 183 }}</ref> American highway safety experts ridiculed it as the "Rain Ahead" sign.<ref name="Conniff" /> Many American motorists were bewildered by the Vienna Convention's symbol sign with two children on it, requiring it to be supplemented with a "School Xing" plaque.<ref name="Hazlett">{{cite news |last1 = Hazlett |first1 = Bill |title = Some Confusing: Wordless Traffic Signs Popping Up |work = Los Angeles Times |date = March 23, 1972 |page = E1 }}</ref> (The American "School Xing" symbol was later redesigned to depict an adult crossing together with a child.) However, several signs from the Vienna Convention were successfully adopted into the 1971 MUTCD, including the red "Yield" sign, which replaced the previous yellow version<ref>{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 1961 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |page = 29 |chapter = Section 1B-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 1971 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |page = 34 |chapter = Section 2B-7}}</ref>, and the "Do Not Enter" sign, which replaced a word-only version.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 1961 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |page = 42 |chapter = Section 1B-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 1971 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |page = 47 |chapter = Section 2B-25}}</ref>. Because the Vienna Convention version was circular, it was given a square backing to conform with the MUTCD shape for regulatory signs, and the words "DO NOT ENTER" were superimposed to ensure American driver comprehension.

The 1971 MUTCD's preference for a rapid transition to symbols over words quietly disappeared in the 1978 MUTCD.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 1978 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |page = 2A-6 |chapter = Section 2A-13, Symbols }}</ref> The 2000 and 2003 MUTCDs each eliminated a symbol sign that had long been intended to replace a word message sign: "Pavement Ends" (in 2000) and "Narrow Bridge" (in 2003).<ref name="2003Rev1Intro">{{cite book |last1 = American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials |last2 = National Joint Committee on Traffic Control Devices |title = Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways |date = 2003 |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |___location = Washington, DC |url = https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/HTM/2003r1/intro/intro.htm |access-date = August 26, 2020 |chapter = Introduction }}</ref>