O4SIGNING AND ROAD MARKING ISSUES
O4.1PRINCIPLES
O4.1.1 Any appropriate prescribed sign may be used temporarily in connection with road works, accidents, temporary traffic regulations or control, during holiday seasons, and for other special occasions such as large public gatherings. Such signs must be of a prescribed size and type, and details of their use and siting distances can be found in Part 1: Design, Section D4.
O4.1.2 Most signs which when used permanently require an order or site approval by the Secretary of State, are subject to the same conditions when used temporarily by or on behalf of a Highway Authority.
O4.1.3 This requirement does not however apply to signs erected by the police in accordance with the powers granted by section 67 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, or by traffic officers in accordance with powers granted by the Traffic Management Act 2004, who may in an emergency display regulatory signs for a period not exceeding seven days.
O4.1.4 Section 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which makes it an offence for a driver to disregard the indication given by a sign, applies to regulatory signs displayed by the police or by traffic officers that are backed by some form of statutory provision or else are specified in the Regulations as one to which section 36 of the Road Traffic 1988 applies. The police in Northern Ireland do not have these powers.
O4.1.5 Temporary signs are required for a limited period only and must be removed as soon as their message no longer applies, e.g. if an obstruction of the road is caused during the day by an item of plant which is removed overnight, any associated "road narrows" signs to diagram 516 or 517 must also be removed overnight. The site should also be left tidy.
O4.1.6 Outside working hours, consideration should be given to removing or covering temporary speed limit signs unless they are considered necessary to maintain safety within the site. A check should always be made to ensure that no conflicting signs remain in place at any time – see also paragraph O3.7.12.
O4.1.7 The messages given by temporary signs must be applicable to the situations in which they are used and sign faces must be kept clean and legible at all times. Any displaced, missing or damaged signs must be replaced as soon as practicable.
O4.1.8 Temporary signs must not be displayed at weekends or holiday times if their messages do not apply. If not removed immediately, such signs cause confusion and create a lack of respect for temporary signing.
O4.1.9 Signs should be placed where they will be clearly seen and cause minimum inconvenience to drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and other road users alike, and where there is minimum risk of their being hit or knocked over by traffic. Where there is a grass verge the signs should normally be placed there. If no verge is present, the placing of signs on the footway is permitted but in no circumstances shall the width of the footway be reduced to less than 1 m (see paragraph O3.13.5).
O4.1.10 For guidance relating to traffic signs mounted on and displayed by vehicles involved in temporary traffic management operations, refer to Sections O8.1, O9.3, O10.7 and O11.7 of this document. Regulation 14 of TSRGD identifies the position and type of signs that may be attached to or mounted on a road maintenance vehicle depending on the road’s maximum speed limit. These signs should be removed or covered when the maintenance vehicle is not carrying out operations; this is particularly important when a vehicle is travelling to or from a works site.
O4.1.11 There will be no need for signs to warn vehicular traffic where works are carried out off the carriageway in the following situations:
- wholly within a verge not used by pedestrians and where a clearance of at least 0.50 m (see Section O3.2) exists between the working area and the edge of the carriageway;
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