The first full chapters of the long-awaited Traffic Signs Manual (TSM) have been published.
Chapters 1 and 4 have been published by the TSO shop with PDF versions to follow shortly, and Department for Transport officials have suggested chapters 3,5 and 7 will be coming soon as well.
The TSM is the main source of guidance to accompany the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) - the bible of British signage - which was updated in 2016.
Chapter 1 of the TSM contains the new 'golden rules' of the new guidance. These include:
- Provide signs only where a clear need has been identified
- Signs should be minimal and sympathetic to the environment
- Sign usage should be audited on a regular basis and a sign inventory should be maintained
- existing signage should be reviewed
- Signage use should be consistent
- Sizes should be selected based on what is appropriate to the prevailing speed
- Take full benefit from the flexibility of the TSRGD
- Avoid the use of tall poles
- Terminal signs should not necessarily be duplicated on each side of carriageway
At traffic signals and signal controlled pedestrian crossings two signal heads per approach should be suitable
The final draft of Chapter 6 is underway and publication is roughly scheduled for early 2019 and the draft for Chapter 7 is almost finished with a possible publication in Spring 2019.
Chapter 6 is a completely section for those designing traffic signal junctions and crossings on roads with a speed limit of 40mph and under particularly in urban areas.
The guidance will focus on all types of pedestrian crossings and take more account of the sense of a place over a sense of movement, as well as reduce the dominance of vehicle traffic. There will be an emphasis on lnes, ease of movement and accessibility.
