Improvements for UK speed related signs

In the previous article "UK metric speed limit signs" we gave examples of what British metric speed limit signs would look like, and also showing the necessary changes and minimum changes from a purely metrication perspective.

In this article we will provide suggestions on how we can improve the British signage further, make them more consistent with international norms, and suggest some new signs. As a result we can reduce the need to have speed limits for everything, and potentially reduce the number of signs.

Advisory speed limit (Highly recommended change and new sign)

Shown below is the original Advisory Speed Limit at a left bend, the changed Advisory Speed Limit sign, and a new (in the UK) "End of Advisory Speed Limit" sign:

With this change, all advisory speed limit signs would be standalone, and none would be supplementary. This advisory speed limit sign is also by far the easiest to read, and can be read instantaneously. The square shape distinguishes it from minimum speed limit (which is circular).

The end of advisory speed limit sign cancels the previously posted advisory speed limit, and makes it obvious when this is happening.

100km/h Advisory speed limit (left); End of 100km/h advisory speed limit (right)

Having said this, another alternative is to phase out advisory speed limits altogether, this option is good because as well as simplifying the speed limit system (only maximum and minimum mandatory) this can save money too because there will be no more advisory speed limit signs / supplementary plates to maintain.

End of speed limit zone (Highly recommended change along with urban / built-up area sign)

This sign means end of 30km/h zone, default urban / built-up speed limit and restrictions applies. This type of sign is only for use within urban areas.

This sign is a big improvement, because it minimizes the words used, and we can much more clearly see that this is the end of the 30km/h zone. Clutter is also reduced - It is not necessary to say "Zone Ends" because "Ends" just adds unnecessary clutter. This sign already means "Zone Ends".

We can use this in conjunction with the urban areas sign and end of urban areas sign.

There is of course, nothing new about this sign, and similar designs are already in place in the rest of Europe, especially Germany.

Replace "National Speed Limit" with All clear / Derestriction (Highly recommended change)

This sign replaces “National Speed Limit” signs. This type of sign is supposed to be a derestriction sign as per international norms, and not a speed limit sign.

However, this all clear / derestriction sign would mean:

• End of all restrictions, including all posted speed limits
• Default speed limit (which can still be called “National Speed Limit” if one really wants to) still applies, depending on area.
• This sign cannot be used in urban or built-up areas.

This change would make this sign more consistent with other British signs (all other derestriction signs in the UK have broken black lines), as well as consistent with international norms.

Introduce "End of Speed Limit" sign (Highly recommended new sign)

This sign would mean end of the stated speed limit – 60km/h in this case, default speed limit now applies, but other restrictions are still in force.

This can also replace "National speed limit signs as well", but where other restrictions still apply (e.g. no stopping).

This type of sign would be unlikely to ever appear in built-up areas.  The only exceptions would be for end of 30km/h and 40km/h speed limits, and even these are only to be used where the standalone 30km/h and 40km/h are used. In other words only where 30km/h Zone and end of 30km/h Zone signs are not used.

Introduce urban / built-up area sign (Highly recommended new sign)

Entering the built-up area of Camberley (left); Leaving the built-up area of Camberley (right)

The "Entering urban / built-up area" sign on the left will mean:

• You are entering the place name stated (in this case Camberley)
• The default speed limit is now 50 km/h – cancelling all previous speed limits.
• The default restrictions for urban areas would also apply (i.e. parking and stopping permitted unless signs / markings say otherwise).

The “Leaving urban / built-up area” sign on the right will mean:

• You are leaving the built-up area stated (in this case Camberley)
• Default speed limit for rural areas applies, unless overridden by other signs (e.g. posted speed limit signs, or motorway signs). In other words, the same meaning as “Derestriction” / “All clear”.

However, we absolutely must have markings on the road saying what the speed limit is on entry to the urban area (50 km/h), an example which is shown in the previous article.

Note that these signs will apply for all built-up areas and urban areas, including but not limited to towns, suburbs of larger towns and suburbs of cities.

We would still need 50 km/h signs in rural areas (e.g. villages) though, as well as repeaters.

Speed limits can also be reviewed in such a way that the number of signs can be minimized so that the entire urban area is 50km/h. Therefore less clutter can result.

Kraftfahrstraße (motor road) style signage and regulations (Highly recommended changes)

Kraftfahrstraßen (motor roads) are roads in Germany and elsewhere in continental Europe (but having different names) which have motorway-like regulations and are often dual carriageways, they have their own special sign. We propose that this sign is also used in the UK.

Start of Kraftfahrstraße-style dual Carriageway regulations and End of Kraftfahrstraße-style dual carriageway signs are shown below:

The start of Kraftfahrstraße-style dual carriageway regulations sign above would mean:

• 60km/h minimum speed limit, therefore no pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, tractors, or certain kinds of mopeds.
• No stopping, parking, or reversing
• Maximum speed limits are lower than or equal to motorways, depending on class of vehicle.

As expected this end of dual carriageway sign means end of "dual carriageway" regulations. The default speed limit for rural areas applies, unless overridden by other signs (e.g. posted speed limit signs, or motorway signs). In addition to this, the end of the Kraftfahrstraße-style regulations sign has the same practical effect as "Derestriction" / "All clear".

As mentioned earlier, these signs (and regulations) exist throughout Continental Europe already. As well as in Germany where these type of roads are called Kraftfahrstraße, in Austria and Switzerland these roads are called Autostraße (which literally translates to "motor road"), and most of the rest of continental Europe have Autostraßen but with a different name, in France this type of road is called a voie rapide. In the UK, many (but not all dual) carriageways are equivalent or almost equivalent to Kraftfahrstraßen.

To avoid confusion in the UK, this sign must only be used where there is a dual carriageway, which are roads separated by a central reservation (but this can have 1 or more lanes), and which are motorway-like but are not motorways. On no account should this sign be used on single carriageways.

In practical terms, the dual carriageways with Kraftfahrstraße style signage will remain unchanged for most road users – only pedestrians, tractors, cycles, and mopeds would now also be forbidden from entering. However, leaner drivers could be permitted here unlike on motorways, which is a matter for discussion in itself.

Because stopping would already be forbidden by these proposed new regulations, we can remove all the no stopping, no parking, and national speed limit signs and repeaters, meaning less signs to maintain. Other signs which would no longer be needed include no cycles. For example in Reading when you enter the A329 dual carriageway there are no less than four signs on entry: Derestriction (National Speed Limit), no stopping, no cycles, and no pedestrians – all four of these signs can be replaced with the “Dual Carriageway / Kraftfahrstraße” sign shown in this subsection.

Example sign for Dual Carriageway / Kraftfahrstraße 1500m ahead:

Whatever we call this new sign, it is worth coming up with a new name for this type dual carriageway, in other words the UK equivalent of Kraftfahrstraße. Not all dual carriageways need to be converted to Kraftfahrstraße-style roads, just those resembling motorways.