A regulatory sign is used to indicate or reinforce
traffic laws
Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic l ...
, regulations or requirements which apply either at all times or at specified times or places upon a
street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
or
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
, the disregard of which may constitute a violation, or a sign in general that regulates public behavior in places open to the public. The
FHWA defines ''regulatory sign'' as "a sign that gives notice to road users of traffic laws or regulations".
Traffic signs
Regulatory
traffic signs
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduce ...
follow international conventions, usually being:
* White circle or rectangle with red border, with a black pictogram, black text, or both
* Blue circle or rectangle with white border and white pictogram
* Red rectangle with white border and white text
* Red octagon with white border and white text (
stop sign
A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before continuing past the sign. In many countries, the sign is a red oc ...
s only
)
United States
Regulatory traffic signs within the United States must comply with the federal
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...
(MUTCD) or the State MUTCD, depending on the state in which the sign is installed. These signs typically have a white background with black or red legends (legends include text, symbols, graphics not part of the background); however, some specific signs may differ in their colors.
Non-traffic signs
Examples of non-traffic types of regulatory signs might be tow-away signs for vehicles without
disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...
parking stickers or no-smoking signs where there are laws prohibiting
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
.
See also
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Warning sign
A warning sign is a type of sign which indicates a potential hazard, obstacle, or condition requiring special attention. Some are traffic signs that indicate hazards on roads that may not be readily apparent to a driver.
While warning traffi ...
– Traffic signs that inform of hazards on roadways.
*
Prohibitory sign – Traffic signs that inform of prohibited actions.
*
Mandatory sign
Mandatory signs are road signs that are used to set the obligations of all traffic that uses a specific area of road. Most mandatory road signs are circular, and may use white symbols on a blue background with a white border, or black symbols on a ...
– Traffic signs that inform of required actions.
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Direction, position, or indication sign
A direction sign, more fully defined as a direction, position, or indication sign by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, is any road sign used primarily to give information about the location of either the driver or possible destin ...
– Traffic signs that indicate directions, routes.
References
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Street furniture
Traffic signs
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