Fundamentals of Transportation/Traffic Control Devices

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Traffic Control Devices include street signs, traffic signals, and road markings. These signs, signals, and stripes guide drivers in navigation and control of their vehicles. Traffic signals are treated above in the section Fundamentals_of_Transportation/Traffic_Signals. Signs and stripings, the other controls, have usage described in the w:Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This table reviews some of the key decisions in the creation of that document.

[edit] Timeline of Traffic Control Devices

• 1911 First center line in Michigan
• 1914 First electric traffic signal installation in Cleveland
• 1915 First stop sign Detroit
• 1920 First three-color traffic signal
• 1923 Shapes agreed to at Mississippi Valley Association of State Highway Departments (Shapes which were most complex to make (circle, octagon) would indicate most danger and be used least often_:
  • Round: Used to warn of RR crossing;
  • Octagon: Used only to signify a stop;
  • Diamond: used to indicate ordinary condition of danger requiring precaution at all times;
  • Square: Used to indicate intermittent danger conditions requiring little more than oridinar care;
  • Rectangular: Used to indicate regulatory or directional information;
  • Cut-Out; Used a distinctive shape different from the above to identify highway routes.
• 1924 Minnesota Department of Highways publishes Manual of Markers and Signs (same shapes, white background -> yellow background)
• 1924 AASHO adopts MVASHD (with black on yellow). Red and green on signs rejected because of visibility at night
• 1924 National Conference on Street and Highway Safety developed urban sign recommendations:
  • Stop = Red,
  • Proceed == Green,
  • Caution = Yellow,
  • Cross-Roads = Purple or other distinctive color.
  • White centerlines only where it was unsafe to be on the left side of the road (curves, hill crests, intersections, railroad crossings)
• 1925: AASHO Manual and Specifications for the Manufacture, Display, and Erection of U.S. Standard Road Markers and Signs ... Tried to build inventory of sign characteristics: Goal of signs: Shape, Word, Color, Symbol, Uniformity of Erection and Application
• 1926 Second National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. Authorized survey from American Engineering Council to collate national practice and make recommendations.
• 1927 Bureau of Public Roads (part of USDA) first national signing manual.
• 1930 Third National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. Publishes Manual on Street Traffic Signs, Signals and Markings. White or black paint for concrete, white or yellow paint for bituminous. Red border and legend on yellow for stop sign. Designed for urban areas.
• 1932 Joint Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices met to rectify and combine AASHO and NCSHS separate manuals for rural and urban traffic into a complete manual. Main initial points were color codes, signs at night, and reduced sign sizes in urban areas. Visibility research was undertaken, sponsored by BPR.
• 1935 First Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
• 1942 - War Emergency Edition
• 1948 MUTCD
• 1954 MUTCD - stop sign changes from black on yellow to white on red; yield sign introduced as triangle (black on yellow), emulating European standards.
• 1961 MUTCD
• 1971 MUTCD
• 1978 MUTCD
• 1988 MUTCD
• 2003 MUTCD

[edit] References

@article{hawkins1992a,

 title=Template:Evolution of the MUTCD: Early Standards for Traffic Control Devices,
 author={Hawkins, Gene},
 journal={ITE Journal},
 year={1992},
 volume={July},
 pages={23--26},
 url={http://tcd.tamu.edu/Documents/MUTCDhistory1.pdf},
 note={(Accessed February 4, 2008)}

}

@article{hawkins1992b,

 title=Template:Evolution of the MUTCD: Early Editions of the MUTCD,
 author={Hawkins, Gene},
 journal={ITE Journal},
 volume={August},
  year={1992},
 pages={17--23},
 url={http://tcd.tamu.edu/Documents/MUTCDhistory2.pdf},
 note={(Accessed February 4, 2008)}

}

@article{hawkins1992c,

 title=Template:Evolution of the MUTCD: The MUTCD since World War II,
 author={Hawkins, Gene},
 journal={ITE Journal},
 volume={November},
  year={1992},
 pages={17--23},
 url={http://tcd.tamu.edu/Documents/MUTCDhistory3.pdf},
 note={(Accessed February 4, 2008)}

}

@article{hawkins1994,

 title=Template:New Developments with the MUTCD,
 author={Hawkins, Gene},
 journal={ITE Journal},
 volume={January},
  year={1994},
 pages={16--21},
 url={http://tcd.tamu.edu/Documents/MUTCD_new_developments.pdf},
 note={(Accessed February 4, 2008)}

}