not only roadside signs, but traffic signals, carriageway markings, 'catseyes' and indications on street bollards.
There are four classes of roadside traffic signs, mandatory, prohibitory, warning and informatory. Prohibitory signs (e.g. No entry) give notice of a Statutory Order or Regulation and entail penalties if ignored. Penalties are also entailed if a mandatory sign (e.g. Keep left) is ignored . With few exceptions they may both be erected only with the approval of the Minister[1]. Warning (e.g. Steep hill) and informatory signs (e.g. Car park) may with few exceptions be erected at the discretion of the highway authority. All must conform with existing Regulations and Directions unless specially authorised.
Pedestrian crossing markings (e.g. zebra crossings) may only be used when the Minister has approved a crossing place or scheme of crossing places. Light signals may be erected only after the approval of the Minister. Carriageway markings (e.g. warning lines) may be laid down at the discretion of the highway authority provided they are prescribed in Regulations or specially authorised.
There are estimated to be in the United Kingdom approximately:—
| 250,000 | mandatory signs, |
| 190,000 | prohibitory signs, |
| 900,000 | warning signs, |
| 270,000 | informatory signs, of which 220,000 are directional signs, |
| 4,000 | traffic signal installations. |
5. All-purpose roads are roads upon which by right of common law all classes of traffic are permitted, whereas from motorways certain classes of traffic such as learner drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are legally excluded.
There are 194,300 miles of all-purpose roads in the United Kingdom; of these:—
| 8,300 | miles are trunk roads, |
| 20,000 | miles are class I roads, |
| 17,000 | miles are class II roads, |
| 49,000 | miles are class III roads, |
| 100,000 | miles are unclassified roads. |
In addition there are now 200 miles of motorway and present planning envisages the construction of a further 800 miles by the early 1970's. Trunk roads and motorways are the legal responsibility of the Minister; the rest are the responsibility of the local highway authorities of which there are some 1,300 . Grants are, however, given by the Minister towards the costs of the classified roads (except in County Boroughs) including the traffic signs on them. These grants are 75 per cent. for class I roads, 60 per cent. for class II and 50 per cent. for class III.
6. Though at the end of this report we have included a full list of our recommendations it may be helpful if we preface it with a brief synopsis of what we consider to be our most important conclusions.
2
- ↑ Throughout this report the term Minister means the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Transport.
