Road signs painted on roads.

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CrazyInWeston
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Road signs painted on roads.

Post by CrazyInWeston »

First of all, please let me apologise if this has been asked before or if its in the wrong forum, but I am talking American painted road signage so I guess it is international.
I have no idea what to call it hence why I cant find it its been asked before, so if there is a name I'd love to know what it is called.
Anyway its time for the question.
Why in the UK they are painted one way and in the USA they are painted reading in the other way?
For Example:
UK USA
I I I I
I I I I
I I I I
I Fire I I Lane I
I Lane I I Fire I
I I I I
I I I I
I I I I
Thanks.
Okay that didnt come out right, pretend the I's are road lane markings.
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Truvelo
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by Truvelo »

I've seen this too. In the US it's written back to front. I assume it's because you drive over the bottom word first but I prefer the UK way of doing it.
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jervi
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by jervi »

I've questioned this too. I presume that in the UK you tend to find only 1 or 2 words messages on the roads, where the order doesn't really matter (turn left, left turn) (ahead only, only ahead) etc. Also it doesn't really matter the order of destinations (L'don A23) or (A23 L'don). As a result we write messages top-down.
However in America, their dependence on written signs result in longer instructions needed to be writ, so when writing more than 1 line that it does matter the order, they chose to write the words bottom-up show it may be easier to read the instructions, especially heavy traffic where the whole message may not viable at the same time.
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Chris Bertram
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by Chris Bertram »

In the UK the main issue is whether you will see

SLOW
ARAF

or

ARAF
SLOW
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ManomayLR
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by ManomayLR »

I get why the text would be in reverse, for example HOV LANE on USA freeways is often painted so you drive over the word HOV first followed by LANE. It would be the other way round in the UK, and it does take a journey or two to switch in your head. (I haven't driven in the USA, or indeed anywhere yet, but I've certainly been on car journeys!) But it does make a lot of sense to see the words in the order you drive over them.
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Truvelo
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by Truvelo »

EpicChef wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 22:53But it does make a lot of sense to see the words in the order you drive over them.
The problem is in all the examples I've seen it's possible to see all the words before driving over them which means you automatically read the furthest word first.
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by scragend »

I noticed this "reversed" way of doing it when I was in New Zealand. Maybe Australia too, but I can't remember.

On the South Island of NZ there are a lot of single-width bridges, and lots of road markings which read:

BRIDGE
LANE
ONE

With my UK eyes I read this as "Bridge Lane One", which made me think of Air Force One.

There was also this one in an entry in Dunedin, which made me titter.
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Bryn666
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by Bryn666 »

The US normally spaces the words out at such intervals you read each one in sequence, whereas we place them as if it was a list to read.

It isn't

AHEAD
SIGNAL

It's

AHEAD




SIGNAL

Which makes quite a difference, but seems a wasteful way to do it.

HORN
YOUR
SOUND

Is just silly though! :D
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ManomayLR
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by ManomayLR »

scragend wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2020 21:49 I noticed this "reversed" way of doing it when I was in New Zealand. Maybe Australia too, but I can't remember.

On the South Island of NZ there are a lot of single-width bridges, and lots of road markings which read:

BRIDGE
LANE
ONE

With my UK eyes I read this as "Bridge Lane One", which made me think of Air Force One.

There was also this one in an entry in Dunedin, which made me titter.
IIRC it’s Dunedin where they’re thinking of putting in phosphor converted amber LED streetlights to emulate the look of LPS.
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mikehindsonevans
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by mikehindsonevans »

Truvelo wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 23:00
EpicChef wrote: Fri Jul 10, 2020 22:53But it does make a lot of sense to see the words in the order you drive over them.
The problem is in all the examples I've seen it's possible to see all the words before driving over them which means you automatically read the furthest word first.
I'm with "EpicChef": when driving in the USA, the way they lay out their markings makes perfect sense. When you are there, with a steering wheel on the other side of the car, it rapidly becomes second nature.

It is just part of the fun of driving in someone else's country! Which, speaking personally, is one of the reasons why I like to travel.
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by FosseWay »

The other option is just not to write stuff on the road in the first place unless really necessary. Important messages on the road surface have a tendency to get worn out, parked on, just happen to have a vehicle sitting on them when you need to read them, get covered in snow or are illegible against the reflection in the dark and wet.

The latter two reasons are I suspect why Sweden makes much less of written commands on the road surface than either the US* or the UK. You get arrows, sometimes accompanied by route numbers, but that's about it on general purpose lanes. Bus lanes have BUSS in them but this is reinforced both by a thick solid line and vertical signage.

* While parts of the US get considerably more snow than most of the inhabited part of Sweden, IME the Americans are more likely to plough it away completely, so that the road surface shows. In the colder parts of Sweden, they plough it if it's too deep to drive through but otherwise you just drive over a compacted layer, and whatever road markings are underneath remain a complete mystery.
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ManomayLR
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by ManomayLR »

I think only essential messages should be painted on roads, where there is a risk to safety if normal signs can’t be seen eg obscured by HGVs
Though roads may not put a smile on everyone's face, there is one road that always will: the road to home.
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by scragend »

EpicChef wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 15:22 I think only essential messages should be painted on roads, where there is a risk to safety if normal signs can’t be seen eg obscured by HGVs
So not this then?

Image

As they say in New Zealand, "Workers Care and NHS You Thank" ;-)
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ManomayLR
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by ManomayLR »

scragend wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 17:19
EpicChef wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 15:22 I think only essential messages should be painted on roads, where there is a risk to safety if normal signs can’t be seen eg obscured by HGVs
So not this then?

Image

As they say in New Zealand, "Workers Care and NHS You Thank" ;-)
I’d say by all means have that sign, but have it as a fixed plate on the side of the road.
Though roads may not put a smile on everyone's face, there is one road that always will: the road to home.
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by tom66 »

Talking about road signs on UK roads (know this isn't quite the same thing)

I've only ever seen these in certain parts of London, no where else:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.4264681 ... 384!8i8192

In Halifax, near a former workplace, they've these at crossings:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7253129 ... 312!8i6656

Presumably a local initiative, but they've all worn out now and there's hardly anything left as of 2020. There's also this curious one:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.7253166 ... 312!8i6656

"20 mins to town" (lies, it's about 30 to anywhere useful)

Any other examples in the UK?
CrazyInWeston
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by CrazyInWeston »

scragend wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 17:19 Image
See I regard that the correct way (obv cos born here) yet I would still read that going 50mph. Its the other way for me where it doesnt work. "Workers Care and NHS You Thank" wtf??

Put it this way. I am stuck in traffic, I see A370, then the car in front inches forwards and I see A370 before inching forwards to see WSM, I know I'm in the correct lane FIRST if I know that I need to be on the A370, that this road is heading to where I want.

The other way round has to cause problems.. see it could say WSM first in heavy traffic but if I am foreigner I dont know where I am going, and then later it says the road number and I discover I'm in the wrong roundabout lane, well that causes extra problems, so I prefer the British way.
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by scragend »

CrazyInWeston wrote: Sun Sep 06, 2020 07:38
See I regard that the correct way (obv cos born here) yet I would still read that going 50mph. Its the other way for me where it doesnt work. "Workers Care and NHS You Thank" wtf??
Yes I know. It is the correct way. I was joking (hence the emoji) - see the NZ "Horn Your Sound" above for the context...
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Richard_Fairhurst
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by Richard_Fairhurst »

EpicChef wrote: Fri Sep 04, 2020 15:22 I think only essential messages should be painted on roads, where there is a risk to safety if normal signs can’t be seen eg obscured by HGVs
On Dartmoor, the National Cycle Network route directions are often painted on the road, rather than on signs. The Dartmoor National Park was worried about sign clutter on minor roads apparently.
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jgharston
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by jgharston »

A hint for the OP, to get monospaced text use the 'code' formatter, shown as </> on the menu bar, it will give you this:

Code: Select all

   UK        USA
|      |  |      |
|      |  |      |
|      |  |      |
| Fire |  | Lane |
| Lane |  | Fire |
|      |  |      |
|      |  |      |
|      |  |      |
There's a lane fire? Oh no, I'd better get off the road. ;)
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ManomayLR
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Re: Road signs painted on roads.

Post by ManomayLR »

I wonder whether we could get variable speed / lane control signals embedded into the road - there would be less clutter from overhead signals, and only large variable message signs would need to be mounted overhead.
Though roads may not put a smile on everyone's face, there is one road that always will: the road to home.
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