recommend called for the advice of a professional designer. We accordingly appointed Mr. Jock Kinneir to undertake this work on our behalf. Mr. Kinneir has continued to be associated with us in assessing the effectiveness of the signs on the Preston By-Pass and the first section of the London-Yorkshire Motorway, in devising the adjustments that commended themselves, and in considering the other matters which remained to be dealt with in this final report.
General Principles
10. Before dealing with the specific signs which we propose, we wish to draw attention to certain general principles that have guided us. We have had uppermost in our minds the need to give to users of the motorways clear and simple directions which can be read and understood, at the higher speeds for which the motorways are designed, in ample time for them to make the necessary manœuvres with safety to themselves and to others. There is the further point that, in view of the widely spaced intervals between intersections and the fact that no turning is allowed on the motorway, the inconvenience of missing an exit is great .
11. We have worked on the principle that the traffic signs are an essential element in the design of the motorways, and that their first object is to be efficient as traffic signs. This has forced us to the conclusion that some of the signs must be comparatively large. It will be found, however, that they are in proportion to the very large roads and the type of traffic they will be serving, and we believe that the interests of amenity will have been met by the attention we have given to the quality of their design and to their colour.
Layout
12. We consider it undesirable to follow the present practice of enclosing place-names and route-numbers in panels within the sign as this increases the area of sign required to accommodate letters and numbers of a given size,[1] and also has a constricting effect which detracts from the legibility of the message. Our own observations suggest that in daytime the latter is also true, though to a lesser extent, of a border surrounding the whole sign, but we nevertheless consider it desirable to retain the border because of its value in differentiating the sign from its background, especially at night.
13. We do not think it either necessary or desirable to attempt to show on the advance direction sign preceding the slip road whether the places shown on it lie to the left or right of the motorway. At this stage the essential need is to tell motorists wishing to leave the motorway that their way off is to the left, and the junction symbol we recommend has been chosen with that end in view. The eventual route to be taken will be given by a further direction sign on the slip road leading to the point where the normal road system is joined.
- ↑ Road Research Board: Road Research 1957 (H.M. Stationery Office, 1958).
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