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KNOW T
Page 126
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By Les Oldridge, T.Eng (CEI), MIMI, AMIRTE
Traffic signs—
controlled by law
SOME people argue that we have too many traffic signs and, when one looks at the dozens of signs illustrated in the Highway Code, it must be conceded that there is some substance to this point of view.
Nevertheless, the erection of signs and the form which they take are strictly controlled by law. Section 54 of the Traffic Regulation Act 1967 lays down that no sign must be placed on or near a road unless it complies with Regulations made under the Act.
The same Act authorises the Secretary of State, the Highway Authority and, in certain cases, the police to erect traffic signs. Private individuals or organisations are not permitted to erect signs on or near roads.
The Highway Authority can, bi written notice, require the owner or occupier of land on which unauthorised signs have been erected to remove them. If the signs are not removed, the authority can itself remove them and recover the cost of doing so from the owner.
One exception There is one exception to the general rule concerning the erection of traffic signs. The Traffic Signs (Temporary Obstruction) Regulations 1 966 permit any person to place a red triangle sign, of a type described in the Regulations, on a road or footway to warn traffic of a temporary obstruction to the carriageway.
This sign, sold by most motor accessory shops, is generally for use at the scene of accidents or breakdowns and must be placed on the same side of the roadway as the obstruction and not less than 50 yards from it.
A traffic sign is defined in the Act as any object or device (whether fixed or portable) for conveying warnings, information, requirements, restrictions or prohibition of any description and 'Iudes any line or mark on the oaJ. Traffic cones and double white lines, as well as all the other more conventional signs, are "traffic signswithin the meaning of the Act. The designs for all these signs are laid down in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1975.
Signs are of three broad classes
(1) Mandatory signs. Failure to obey this type of sign is an offence; traffic lights, double white lines on roads and ' Stopat road junctions are examples. Generally speaking these signs are circular in shape with either a red border or a blue background. The "No Right Turn" sign is an example of a sign with a red border while the arrow showing which way traffic must proceed has a blue background.
There are exceptions to these rules, eg the inverted red bordered triangle of the "Give Way" sign and the double white line road markings.
(2) Hazard warning signs. The signs which warn drivers that they are approaching some hazard of which they should be aware in the interests of road safety, eg "Cross Roads'', "Level Crossing" and "Double Bend".
(3) Informatory signs_ These 'include direction signs which are generally rectangular or square with.
(a) a green backtround with white border and letters for direction signs on primary roads, or (b) blue background with white border and letters on motorways, or (c) white background with black border and letters for direction signs on other roads.
Section 22 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 makes it an offence for a person driving or propelling a vehicle to fail to comply with the indication given by a road traffic sign. The signs to which this section refers are signs placed by police, "Stop" or "Give Way" signs at road
junctions, road works signs indicating "Stop", the diagonal arrows for keep left or keep right, red traffic lights; double white lines, -No Entrysigns, a sign used for traffic direction at a census point, a school crossing patrol sign and the signs erected at automatic half barrier railway level crossings requesting drivers of large or heavy vehicles to telephone for permission to Cross.
Although some other signs such as "No Waiting" or "No Left Turn" could be regarded as indicating a statutory prohibition, an offender who fails to conform to this type of sign is usually prosecuted for contravention of the Regulation or order under which the sign was erected and not for failing to conform to the sign.
Maximum penalty Section 22 is not limited to mechanically propelled vehicles; pedal cycles and horse-drawn vehicles have to compdy in the same way as motor vehicles. The maximum penalty is a fine of £100 and for the drivers of motor vehicles there is a discretionary power given to the court to disqualify offenders from driving and their driving licence must be endorsed.
In Brazier v Alabaster (1962) Crim LR 173, it was held that a -Keep Left" sign can only indicate that if a driver is going to pass it, he should keep to the left of it. It does not prevent a driver turning right before he reaches it. In this particular case a motorist was approaching a roundabout which bore the usual "Keep Left" sign; 62 feet short of the roundabout he made a " IJ-turn" and travelled back the way he had previously been travelling. It is no defence to a charge of failing to conform to the indication given by a traffic sign that the defendant did not see the sign (Rees v Taylor (1939)).
Regulation 23 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1975 deals with double white line markings. It makes it an offence for a vehicle to straddle or cross the continuous line when this line is to the left of the dotted line or another continuous white line (except to turn right into a side road or land or premises adjoining the road), to overtake a stationary vehicle, avoid an accident or comply with a direction of a police constable in uniform.
Offence to stop It is also an offence to stop a vehicle on any length of road having these markings except.
(a) for a person to board or alight from it; (b) to load or unload goods;
(c) when NECESSARY for road works or work on public utility services (gas, water, electricity, etc) or for building operations or the removal of a road obstruction;
(d) for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes; (e) pedal cycles without sidecars; (f) when required by law to stop, or where necessary to avoid an accident or where it is due to circumstances beyond the driver's control (presumably a breakdown); (g) with permission of a uniformed constable.
In (a), (b) and (c) the exemptions do not apply if it is reasonably practicable to stop at a layby or on a road verge for these purposes.
It is not an offence to cross or straddle the double white lines when the broken line is nearest to the vehicle, but to do so places a special responsibility on the driver to be sure that the manoeuvre is a safe one.