Foreword
1. In 1963 the Traffic Signs Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Walter Worboys, presented its report to the Secretary of State for Scotland and the then Minister of Transport whose responsibilities on highway matters at that time covered Wales as well as England.
2. The report recommended the introduction of entirely new traffic signs on all purpose roads and suggested the introduction of an illustrated manual to provide advice and guidance on their use.
3. The new signs were first prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1964 which came into operation on 1 January 1965. The current Regulations are the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002.
4. It was expected that the Traffic Signs Manual would take a long time to prepare and publish and therefore the green booklet Informatory Signs for use on All purpose Roads was published in 1964 to encourage the early introduction of some of the new signs. In addition to dealing comprehensively with the subject of Informatory Signs, the booklet included the design rules for the new signs and gave guidance on such matters as their mounting and siting. Current guidance can be found in Chapter 7 of the Manual and in Local Transport Note 1/94 The Design and Use of Directional Informatory Signs.
5. The Manual itself was originally planned and published in separate chapters as loose-leaf publications for insertion into the Traffic Signs Manual binder. It was thought that this form of publication would facilitate the revision of the manual as and when required. Amendments and revised texts could be introduced simply by an exchange of pages. Unfortunately the amendment system has been wholly frustrated by administrative and distributive difficulties and consequently it has been found necessary when revising chapters or bringing them up-to-date, to re-write each Chapter as a whole. In these circumstances and to meet the needs of individuals and individual organisations whose interests may be confined to a single chapter, it has been decided to abandon the loose-leaf format and to publish all revised and hitherto unpublished chapters when required as individually bound publications.
6. The chapter contents of the complete Traffic Signs Manual are listed opposite. The chapters not marked with an asterisk are currently available in the form of individually bound publications and future publications of chapters of the Traffic Signs Manual will be notified in official circulars issued either individually or jointly by the Departments concerned.
7. Enquiries regarding the Traffic Signs Manual may be made through the appropriate national authority or direct to the Traffic Management Division of the Department for Transport.
Department for Transport
Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland)
Scottish Executive
Welsh Assembly Government
