1.
Secretary-General of the United Nations
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The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the administrative officer of the United Nations. The role of the United Nations Secretariat, and of the Secretary-General in particular, is out by Chapter XV of the United Nations Charter. As of 2017, the Secretary-General is António Guterres, appointed by the General Assembly on 13 October 2016, according to the UN website, their roles are further defined as diplomat and advocate, civil servant, and CEO. Nevertheless, this more abstract description has not prevented the office holders from speaking out, responsibilities of the Secretary-General are further outlined in Articles 98 through 100. They are also responsible for making a report to the General Assembly. According to Article 99, they may notify the Security Council on matters which in their opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace, other than these few guidelines, little else is dictated by the Charter. Interpretation of the Charter has varied between Secretaries-General, with some being more active than others. The Secretary-General is highly dependent upon the support of the states of the UN. The personal skills of the Secretary-General and their staff are crucial to their function, the central position of the UN headquarters in the international diplomatic network is also an important asset. The Secretary-General has the right to place any dispute on the agenda of the Security Council. However, they work mostly behind the scenes if the members of the council are unwilling to discuss a dispute. Most of their time is spent on good offices missions and mediation, sometimes at the request of deliberative organs of the UN and their function may be replaced or supplemented by mediation efforts by the major powers. UN peacekeeping missions are often linked to mediation. The recent improvement in relations between the permanent members of the Security Council has strengthened the role of the Secretary-General as the worlds most reputable intermediary, in the early 1960s, Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev led an effort to abolish the Secretary-General position. Khrushchev proposed to replace the Secretary-General with a three-person leading council, one member from the West, one from the Eastern Bloc and this idea failed because the neutral powers failed to back the Soviet proposal. Article 97 of the United Nations Charter determines that the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council, as the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto a nomination. Most Secretaries-General are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame, unofficial qualifications for the job have been set by precedent in previous selections
2.
Traffic sign
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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 introduced, for example, the fingerposts in the United Kingdom and their wooden counterparts in Saxony. Such pictorial signs use symbols in place of words and are based on international protocols. Such signs were first developed in Europe, and have adopted by most countries to varying degrees. Traffic signs can be grouped into several types, for example, Annexe 1 of the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, which on 30 June 2004 had 52 signatory countries, defines eight categories of signs, A. Special regulation signs F. Information, facilities, or service signs G. Direction, position, a rather informal distinction among the directional signs is the one between advance directional signs, interchange directional signs, and reassurance signs. Advance directional signs appear at a distance from the interchange. A number of countries do not give information for the road ahead, advance directional signs enable drivers to take precautions for the exit. They often do not appear on lesser roads, but are normally posted on expressways and motorways, while each nation has its own system, the first approach sign for a motorway exit is mostly placed at least 1000 m from the actual interchange. After that sign, one or two additional advance directional signs typically follow before the interchange itself. The earliest road signs were milestones, giving distance or direction, for example, in the Middle Ages, multidirectional signs at intersections became common, giving directions to cities and towns. In 1686, the first known Traffic Regulation Act in Europe is established by King Peter II of Portugal and this act foresees the placement of priority signs in the narrowest streets of Lisbon, stating which traffic should back up to give way. One of these still exists at Salvador street, in the neighborhood of Alfama. The first modern road signs erected on a wide scale were designed for riders of high or ordinary bicycles in the late 1870s and early 1880s. These machines were fast, silent and their nature made them difficult to control, moreover their riders travelled considerable distances, the development of automobiles encouraged more complex signage systems using more than just text-based notices. One of the first modern-day road sign systems was devised by the Italian Touring Club in 1895, by 1900, a Congress of the International League of Touring Organizations in Paris was considering proposals for standardization of road signage. In 1903 the British government introduced four national signs based on shape, in 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four pictorial symbols, indicating bump, curve, intersection, and grade-level railroad crossing. The intensive work on road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system
3.
Traffic light
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The worlds first, manually operated gas-lit traffic signal was short lived. Installed in London in December 1868, it exploded less than a month later, Traffic control started to seem necessary in the late 1890s and Earnest Sirrine from Chicago patented the first automated traffic control system in 1910. It used the words STOP and PROCEED, although neither word lit up, Traffic lights alternate the right of way accorded to users by displaying lights of a standard colour following a universal colour code. In the typical sequence of phases, The green light allows traffic to proceed in the direction denoted, if it is safe to do so. The amber light warns that the signal is about to change to red, in a number of countries – among them the United Kingdom – a phase during which red and yellow are displayed together indicates that the signal is about to change to green. A flashing amber indication is a warning signal, in the United Kingdom, a flashing amber light is used only at pelican crossings, in place of the combined red–amber signal, and indicates that drivers may pass if no pedestrians are on the crossing. The red signal prohibits any traffic from proceeding, a flashing red indication is treated as a stop sign. In some countries traffic signals will go into a flashing mode if the Conflict Monitor detects a problem, the signal may display flashing yellow to the main road and flashing red to the side road, or flashing red in all directions. Flashing operation can also be used during times of day when traffic is light, before traffic lights traffic police controlled the flow of traffic, a well-documented example being that on London Bridge in 1722. Three men were given the task of directing traffic coming in, each officer would help direct traffic coming out of Southwark into London and he made sure all traffic stayed on the west end of the bridge. A second officer would direct traffic on the east end of the bridge to control the flow of people leaving London and going into Southwark. The main reason for the light was that there was an overflow of horse-drawn traffic over Westminster Bridge which forced thousands of pedestrians to walk next to the Houses of Parliament. The design combined three semaphore arms with red and green gas lamps for use, on a pillar. The gas lantern was manually turned by a police officer. The signal was 22 feet high, at night a red light would command Stop and a green light would mean use Caution. Although it was said to be successful at controlling traffic, its life was brief. It exploded on 2 January 1869, as a result of a leak in one of the gas lines underneath the pavement, injuring or killing the policeman who was operating it. In the first two decades of the 20th century semaphore traffic signals, like the one in London, were in use all over the United States with each state having its own design of the device, One good example was from Toledo, Ohio in 1908
4.
Road marking
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Road surface marking is any kind of device or material that is used on a road surface in order to convey official information, they are commonly places with road marking machines. They can also be applied in other facilities used by vehicles to mark parking spaces or designate areas for other uses, Road surface markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians. Uniformity of the markings is an important factor in minimizing confusion and uncertainty about their meaning, however, countries and areas categorize and specify road surface markings in different ways — white lines are called white lines mechanical, non-mechanical, or temporary. Road surface marking can also indicate regulation for parking and stopping, there is continuous effort to improve the road marking system, and technological breakthroughs include adding retroreflectivity, increasing longevity, and lowering installation cost. Mechanical devices may be raised or recessed into the road surface, most are permanent, some are movable. Cats eye, invented by Percy Shaw in the 1930s, Cats eyes equip many major routes in the British Isles and they consist of four reflective lenses mounted in a durable white rubber housing, two facing fore and two facing aft. The housing is mounted within a cast iron shoe, which the rubber housing sinks in to when driven over and this provides protection from snow ploughing and allows the lenses to be self-cleaning—they pass a rubber blade when depressed. The lenses are available in a variety of different colours, mainly white, yellow/orange, green, red, Botts dots, named for the California Caltrans engineer Elbert Botts, who invented the epoxy that keeps them glued down, are one type of a mechanical non-reflective raised marker. Generally they are used to mark the edges of traffic lanes, Botts dots are also used across a travel lane to draw the drivers attention to the road. They are frequently used in this way to alert drivers to toll booths and they are normally only used in warm climates since snow plows usually remove them along with the snow. Rumble strips are used for the same purpose. A rumble strip can be a series of troughs that is ground out of the asphalt. Other alternatives, similar to the Botts dots, use raised strips, a specific form of raised strips using thermoplastic is called profile thermoplastic markings. The markings are created by fusing thermoplastic to the pavement and create alternating elevation and recession pattern and this can be done as inverted-profile markings or raised-profile markings. Inverted-profile markings are created by pressing a cog rolling over the markings while they are wet to make them corrugated, raised-profile markings are created by extruding extra thickness of thermoplastic at a specific interval to create bumps. Raised-profile markings are known as convex traffic lines. Uses of rumble strips can be across the direction or along the travel direction. Their main way of function is creating a strong vibration when driven over that will alert a driver to various upcoming hazards both by sound and the vibration of the vehicle
5.
United Nations Economic and Social Council
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The ECOSOC serves as the central forum for discussing international economic and social issues, and for formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system. A number of organisations have been granted consultative status to the Council to participate in the work of the United Nations. The president is elected for a term and chosen from the small or mid-sized powers represented on the ECOSOC. His Excellency Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava was elected seventy-second President of the Economic, Ambassador Shava is currently the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the United Nations in New York. The Council has 54 member states out of the 193 UN member states, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon added, Rather than viewing growth and sustainability as competing goals on a collision course, we must see them as complementary and mutually supportive imperatives. The report concluded that Business as usual is not an option, governance of the multilateral system has historically been complex and fragmented. This has limited the capacity of the ECOSOC to influence policies in trade, finance. Reform proposals aim to enhance the relevance and contribution of the council, a major reform was approved by the 2005 World Summit on the basis of proposals submitted by secretary-general Kofi Annan. At the Summit it was decided to hold annual ministerial-level substantive reviews to assess progress in achieving internationally agreed development goals. These Annual Ministeral Reviews will be replaced by the High Level Political Forum from 2016 onwards after the new post-MDG/Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals are agreed. Subsequent proposals by the High-Level Panel Report on System-Wide Coherence in November 2006 aimed to establish a forum within the ECOSOC as a counter-model to the clubs of the G8. The Forum was to comprise 27 heads of state to meet annually and this proposal, however, was not approved by the General Assembly. The Economic and Social Council Chamber in the United Nations Conference Building was a gift from Sweden and it was conceived by Swedish architect Sven Markelius, one of the 11 architects in the international team that designed the UN headquarters. Wood from Swedish pine trees was used in the area for the railings
6.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
7.
Traffic
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Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars, buses and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel. Organized traffic generally has well-established priorities, lanes, right-of-way, Traffic is formally organized in many jurisdictions, with marked lanes, junctions, intersections, interchanges, traffic signals, or signs. Traffic is often classified by type, heavy vehicle, other vehicle. Different classes may share speed limits and easement, or may be segregated, some jurisdictions may have very detailed and complex rules of the road while others rely more on drivers common sense and willingness to cooperate. Organization typically produces a combination of travel safety and efficiency. Events which disrupt the flow and may cause traffic to degenerate into a disorganized mess include road construction, collisions, on particularly busy freeways, a minor disruption may persist in a phenomenon known as traffic waves. A complete breakdown of organization may result in traffic congestion and gridlock, simulations of organized traffic frequently involve queuing theory, stochastic processes and equations of mathematical physics applied to traffic flow. The word traffic originally meant trade and comes from the Old Italian verb trafficare, the origin of the Italian words is unclear. Rules of the road and driving etiquette are the practices and procedures that road users are required to follow. These rules usually apply to all users, though they are of special importance to motorists and cyclists. These rules govern interactions between vehicles and with pedestrians, the basic traffic rules are defined by an international treaty under the authority of the United Nations, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Not all countries are signatory to the convention and, even among signatories, there are also unwritten local rules of the road, which are generally understood by local drivers. These rules should be distinguished from the procedures required to operate ones vehicle. Traffic going in opposite directions should be separated in such a way that they do not block each others way, the most basic rule is whether to use the left or right side of the road. In many countries, the rules of the road are codified, in the United Kingdom, the rules are set out in the Highway Code, which includes obligations but also advice on how to drive sensibly and safely. In the United States, traffic laws are regulated by the states and municipalities through their respective traffic codes, most of these are based at least in part on the Uniform Vehicle Code, but there are variations from state to state. However, states such as South Carolina have completely criminalized their traffic law, so, for example, vehicles often come into conflict with other vehicles and pedestrians because their intended courses of travel intersect, and thus interfere with each others routes. The general principle that establishes who has the right to go first is called right of way and it establishes who has the right to use the conflicting part of the road and who has to wait until the other does so
8.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
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These specifications include the shapes, colors, and fonts used in road markings and signs. In the United States, all control devices must legally conform to these standards. The manual is used by state and local agencies as well as construction firms to ensure that the traffic control devices they use conform to the national standard. While some state agencies have developed their own sets of standards, including their own MUTCDs, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices advises the FHWA on additions, revisions, and changes to the MUTCD. However, each highway had its own set of signage, usually designed to promote the highway rather than to assist in the direction, in fact, conflicts between these automobile clubs frequently led to multiple sets of signs—sometimes as many as eleven—being erected on the same highway. They reported their findings to the Mississippi Valley Association of Highway Departments and these suggestions included the familiar circular railroad crossing sign and octagonal stop sign. In 1927, the American Association of State Highway Officials, or AASHO, published the Manual and Specifications for the Manufacture, Display, standard Road Markers and Signs to set standards for traffic control devices used on rural roads. This was followed by the Manual on Street Traffic Signs, Signals, and Markings, the MUTCD was first released in 1935, and set standards for both road signs and pavement markings. In 1966, Congress passed the Highway Safety Act, P. L. 89-564,72 Stat,885, which is now codified at 23 U. S. C. §401 et seq. The penalty for noncompliance was a 10% reduction in funding, in turn, taking advantage of broad rulemaking powers granted in 23 U. S. C. §402, the Department simply adopted the entire MUTCD by reference at 23 C. F. R, thus, what was formerly a quasi-official project became an official one. States are allowed to supplement the MUTCD but must remain in substantial conformance with the national MUTCD, most of the repainting to the 1971 standard was done between 1971 and 1974, with a deadline of 1978 for the changeover of both the markings and signage. Comments were accepted until July 31,2008, the new edition was published in 2009. Proposed additions and revisions to the MUTCD are recommended to FHWA by the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the NCUTCD also recommends interpretations of the MUTCD to other agencies that use the MUTCD, such as state departments of transportation. NCUTCD develops public and professional awareness of the principles of safe traffic control devices and practices, the NCUTCD is supported by twenty-one sponsoring organizations, including transportation and engineering industry groups, safety organizations, and the American Automobile Association. Each sponsoring organization promotes members to serve as voting delegates within the NCUTCD, compared to the Vienna Convention, the MUTCD stresses a consistent color scheme and relatively large, verbose warning signs. MUTCD guide signs tend to be less verbose than their equivalents in Vienna Convention countries, the MUTCD has become widely influential outside the United States, for example, the use of yellow stripes to divide opposing traffic has been widely adopted throughout the Western Hemisphere. Many U. S. states produce their own standards, which take the form of either a manual or supplement to the federal MUTCD
9.
Southern African Development Community
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The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further cooperation and integration as well as political. It complements the role of the African Union, the immediate forerunner of the political and security cooperation leg of todays SADC was the informal Frontline States grouping. The Southern African Development Coordination Conference was the forerunner of the socio-economic cooperation leg of todays SADC, the adoption by nine majority-ruled southern African countries of the Lusaka declaration on 1 April 1980 paved the way for the formal establishment of SADCC in April 1980. Membership of the FLS and SADCC sometimes differed, SADCC was transformed into SADC on 17 August 1992, with the adoption by the founding members of SADCC and newly independent Namibia of the Windhoek declaration and treaty establishing SADC. The 1992 SADC provided for both socio-economic cooperation and political and security cooperation, in reality, the FLS was dissolved only in 1994, after South Africas first democratic elections. Subsequent efforts to place political and security cooperation on an institutional footing under SADCs umbrella failed. On 14 August 2001, the 1992 SADC treaty was amended, the amendment heralded the overhaul of the structures, policies and procedures of SADC, a process which is ongoing. One of the changes is that political and security cooperation is institutionalised in the Organ on Politics, Defence, one of the principal SADC bodies, it is subject to the oversight of the organisations supreme body, the Summit, which comprises the heads of state or government. The organisation holds its own event in the form of the SADC Games. Originally planned for a date in Malawi and Lesotho, organisational issues led to abandonment of the plan. The first event in 2004 in Maputo resulted in over 1000 youths under-20 from 10 countries taking part in a programme including athletics, football, netball, boxing. SADC has 27 legally binding protocols dealing with such as Defence, Development, Illicit Drug Trade, Free Trade. Protocol on Energy – Intended to promote development of national energy policies. H. E. The SADC Free Trade Area was established in August 2008, after the implementation of the SADC Protocol on Trade in 2000 laid the foundation for its formation. Its original members were Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, of the 15 SADC member states, only Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Seychelles are not yet participating. The leaders of the three trading blocs agreed to create a free trade zone, the African Free Trade Zone. It is hoped the African Free Trade Zone agreement would ease access to markets within the zone, the only difference is that the African Free Trade Zone is the creation of independent African Countries
10.
Warning sign
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A traffic warning sign is a type of traffic sign that indicates a hazard ahead on the road that may not be readily apparent to a driver. In most countries, they take the shape of an equilateral triangle with a white background. However, both the color of the background and the color and thickness of the border varies from country to country, in the Peoples Republic of China, warning signs appear with a black border and a yellow background. In Sweden, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Finland, Iceland, the polar bear warning sign in Svalbard recently changed from displaying a black bear on white background to a white bear on black background. Some countries that use a white background have adopted an orange or amber background for road work or construction signs. Warning signs in some countries have a shape in place of the standard triangular shape. Some other countries use these standards for some signage. The warning signs usually contain a symbol, in Europe they are based on the UNECE Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. In the United States they are based on the MUTCD standard, some of the first roadside signs —ancient milestones— merely gave distance measures. Hazard warnings were rare though occasional specimens appeared, such as the warning about horse-drawn vehicles backing up which was carved in stone in Lisbons Alfama neighborhood in 1686. The early signs did not have high-contrast lettering and their messages might have been easily overlooked, Signs were written in the local language, symbolic signs, though long used on certain tradesmens signs were to be used for traffic only much later in history. Complex signage systems emerged with the appearance of motorcars, in 1908 the automobile association in West London erected some warning signs. In 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four symbols, indicating bump, curve, intersection. The intensive work on road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system. As the 20th century progressed and also as traffic volume and vehicle speeds increased, sign-visibility, earlier flat painted signs gave way to signs with embossed letters. Wording might be spelled out with so-called button copy —letters dotted with reflective glass spheres for night visibility, button copy signs with plastic pips rather than glass appeared in the 1970s. Flat metal signs reappeared in the 1980s with the use of surfaces covered with retroflective sheeting materials like Scotchlite. In Europe, the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals tried, among other things, after the fall of the Iron Curtain and greater ease of country-to-country driving in the Eurozone, European countries moved toward lessening the regional differences in warning signs
11.
Prohibitory traffic sign
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Prohibitory traffic signs are used to prohibit certain types of manoeuvres or some types of traffic. No admittance to unauthorised personnel, usually shown as a red circle with a white rectangle across its face and it is often used for one-way traffic. These signs denote that the road is only for traffic coming in the opposite direction, Used at intersections to roads with one-way traffic or ramps. Traffic is not permitted to continue straight, and must usually turn and these may occur at an intersection with incoming one-way traffic. Motor vehicles are not permitted in this region, motorcycles are not permitted in this area. Heavy goods vehicles are not allowed Buses are not permitted, pedestrians are not allowed on the road, but may use a footpath instead. Pedestrians and bicycles are not permitted, but may be allowed on a footpath, either for all vehicles or with some exceptions. These are usually to speed up traffic through an intersection or due to cars or other right of ways or if the intersecting road is one-way. Indicated near-universally by a making the prohibited turn overlaid with a red circle with an angular line crossing it. No overtaking or passing signs See, Speed limit Used to indicate a maximum speed limit, the indicated limit is in mph in the USA and the UK, and in km/h in all other countries. Speed limit signs End of speed limit signs Used denote maximum weight for bridges, Used to denote maximum width on narrow roadways. Used to denote height limit on bridges and underpasses Used to denote maximum length, sounding your horn is not allowed for vehicles in some areas, most commonly in school zones, villages, or near hospitals or churches. Amongst one of the most familiar signs, this sign is used where parking is prohibited, the no parking sign is a part of controlled parking zone sign, which is obsolete in Belgrade from 1997. This sign is used where parking and stopping is prohibited, usually shown as a red cross inside a blue circle with a red ring in Europe and parts of Asia, and a E in a red circle with a X through in South America. Stop at customs that are used at crossings, toll roads or police. These are the signs that end restrictions
12.
Mandatory sign
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Mandatory signs are road signs which are used to set the obligations of all traffic which use a specific area of road. Unlike prohibitory or restrictive signs, mandatory signs tell traffic what it must do, in Vienna Convention signatories, the mandatory sign is either a light blue circle with a white border or a white circle with a red border. The mandatory sign group is not used in Australia, Ecuador, or the United States, canada has developed its own style using a green circle, which is not used in any other country. The U. S. instead uses black arrows and border on taller-than-wide rectangular white signs, below is a chart comparing some of the most common mandatory signs. When a specific area of roadway is designated with a sign specifying a vehicle type. These signs can be combined by putting one pictogram above the other, if the pictograms are side-by-side however, with the sign divided by a white vertical line, each type of vehicle must stay within the lane indicated by the sign. A red line through a sign indicates not that a vehicle of a specific type is prohibited from entering the designated area. Mandatory signs can also be used to issue instructions to all vehicles - common examples include pass on this side signs seen at roadworks, and compulsory roundabout signs seen at mini-roundabouts
13.
Direction, position, or indication sign
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Direction signs are far more varied internationally than other classes of sign, as the Vienna Convention does not specify sizes, colours, symbols or positions of such signs. Direction signs are the oldest type of sign, Plutarch writes about milestones being placed in the 3rd century BC. However, it was not until the invention of the car at the turn of the 20th century that modern direction signs evolved, with fewer words. The use of milestones continued following the decline of the Roman Empire, however, as trading between towns and regions increased, milestones were found to be inconvenient for giving directions at crossroads. As a result, the fingerpost developed, erected by local parishes, fingerposts were easier to read from horseback and were cheaper to make. Similar signs were developed in countries and remained in use until the early-20th century. These proved unwieldy, and modernisation efforts quickly sprang up to change them, the end of the war, on the other hand, presented itself as an opportunity, seized by many European nations, to set about redeveloping their directional signage systems. The British Worboys Committee went even further, creating signs with detailed diagrams of junction layouts, such signs have now been in use almost unchanged for over half a century. Additionally, direction signs on motorways must be blue or green, some areas have special evacuation route signs that are to be followed in case of certain disasters. The signs point to either to safety or to less danger. Evacuation signs are common in areas where there is a risk of dangers such as flash flooding, volcanic activity and lahar, tsunami, hurricane. For example, along the Japanese shorelines, the warning signs are linked with a network of warning sirens. Bilingual sign Cairn Exit number Highway location marker Driver location signs
14.
Yield sign
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In road transport, a yield or give way sign indicates that each driver must prepare to stop if necessary to let a driver on another approach proceed. A driver who stops or slows down to let another vehicle through has yielded the right of way to that vehicle, in contrast, a stop sign requires each driver to stop completely before proceeding, even if no other traffic is present. Particular regulations regarding appearance, installation, and compliance with the signs vary by jurisdiction, while give way and yield essentially have the same meaning in this context, many countries have a clear preference of one term over the other. The following chart compiles which countries and territories use which term and this chart is based on official government usage in the English language and excludes translations from other languages. A black triangle was a symbol of stop for all vehicles since about 1925 in Germany, in the United States, the first yield sign was installed in 1950 at First Street and Columbia Avenue Tulsa, Oklahoma, having been devised and designed by Tulsa police officer Clinton Riggs. Riggs invented only the sign, not the rule, which was already in place, the sign as originally conceived by Officer Riggs was shaped like a keystone, later versions bore the shape of an inverted equilateral triangle in common use today. In Australia, the Give Way sign experienced a similar evolution as its counterpart in the United States, during the 1940s and 1950s, the sign was circular and yellow. In 1964, the changed to the triangular shape and red. In the 1980s the sign adopted its design and gained a counterpart for use at roundabouts. In road signs in Ireland, the sign reads yield in most areas, though in Gaeltacht areas. Signs erected before 1997 and still in service read yield right of way, Signs 1956–62 had blank white interior or were hollow. In New Zealand, the design also used the keystone shape as in the United States. In the 1980s, the design was adopted. The United Kingdoms Road Traffic Act calls for give way signs, the road marking accompanying the sign consists of a large inverted triangle painted just before the place to give way. In Wales, the signs bear bilingual legends, the Welsh ildiwch appears above give way, in the United Kingdom, a stop or give-way sign may be preceded by an inverted, blank, triangular sign with an advisory placard such as give way 100 yards. If controlling a merge-type movement on the roadway where acceleration geometry and/or sight distance is not adequate for merging traffic operation. The second crossroad of a highway, where the median width at the intersection is 9 m or greater. In this case, a STOP sign may be installed at the entrance to the first roadway of a highway
15.
Stop sign
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A stop sign is a traffic sign to notify drivers that they must make sure no cars are coming and slow down before proceeding. The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals proposed the standard stop sign diameters of 600,900 or 1200 mm, the United Kingdom and New Zealand stop signs are 750,900 or 1200 mm, according to sign location and traffic speeds. In the United States, stop signs have a size of 750 mm across opposite flats of the red octagon, the white uppercase letters in small caps forming the stop legend are 250 mm tall. Larger signs of 900 mm with 300 mm legend and 25 mm border are used on multi-lane expressways, the metric units specified in the US regulatory manuals are rounded approximations of US customary units, not exact conversions. The field, legend, and border are all retroreflective, in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals of the UN, the instruction on the sign to stop is specified to be either in English as stop or written in the local language. The signs distinctive design was developed and first used in the US, despite this, the US is not a signatory to this UN Convention. The reason that the US has the sign design as specified by the Convention is that the Convention adopted the US standard. However, most countries see fewer of them than North America and South Africa, because all-way stops are never used, at the vast majority of minor intersections in these countries Give Way signs and/or equivalent road markings are used. Finally, at the crossing streets, Give Way signs may be replaced by roundabouts. Stop signs are used in North America to control conflicting traffic movements at intersections that are not busy enough to justify the installation of a traffic signal or roundabout. In the United States, the sign is not intended for use as a traffic calming device. Stop signs may be erected on all intersecting roads, resulting in three-, more recently, Georgia Traffic Engineer Martin Bretherton Jr. Fifteen studies found that unwarranted multi-way stops actually increased speed away from intersections as motorists try to make up lost time spent at unnecessary stop signs, multi-way stop signs impose high vehicle operating costs, longer than needed travel times, excessive fuel consumption and increased vehicle emissions. Researchers also found that safety of pedestrians may sometimes be actually decreased, pedestrians expect vehicles to stop, but many drivers run the unnecessary signs. Engine exhaust, brake, tire and aerodynamic noise may all increase as cars brake, while the initial cost of installing stop signs is low, enforcement costs can be prohibitive, and one 1990 study estimated extra travel costs per intersection as $210, 061/year. Finally, where unwarranted multi-way stops have been removed with public support. Another major issue surrounding the use of stop signs pertains to the publics variegated understanding of their meaning, one prolific source of accidents is the misconception of law that every motorist who attempts to enter a main highway from a side road, does so at his or her peril. He or she has a right to assume that the driver of the car will obey the law, slow down
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Pictogram
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A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to a considerable extent pictorial in appearance, a pictogram may also be used in subjects such as leisure, tourism and geography. Some pictograms, such as Hazards pictograms, are elements of formal languages, pictograph has a rather different meaning in the field of prehistoric art, including recent art by traditional societies. Here it means art painted on surfaces, as opposed to petroglyphs that are carved or incised. Such images may or may not be considered pictograms in the general sense, early written symbols were based on pictographs and ideograms. Ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Chinese civilizations began to adapt such symbols to represent concepts, pictographs are still in use as the main medium of written communication in some non-literate cultures in Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. Pictographs are often used as simple, pictorial, representational symbols by most contemporary cultures, one example of many is the Rock art of the Chumash people, part of the Native American history of California. In 2011, UNESCOs World Heritage List added Petroglyph Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, because of their graphical nature and fairly realistic style, they are widely used to indicate public toilets, or places such as airports and train stations. Contemporary artist Xu Bing created Book from the Ground, a language made up of pictograms collected from around the world. A Book from the Ground chat program has been exhibited in museums, pictograms are used in many areas of modern life for commodity purposes, often as a formal language. In statistics, pictograms are chartsin which icons represent numbers to make it more interesting, a key is often included to indicate what each icon represents. All icons must be of the size, but a fraction of an icon can be used to show the respective fraction of that amount. For example, the table, can be graphed as follows, Key, =10 letters As the values are rounded to the nearest 5 letters. This is why road signs and similar material are often applied as global standards expected to be understood by nearly all. A standard set of pictographs was defined in the international standard ISO7001, other common sets of pictographs are the laundry symbols used on clothing tags and the chemical hazard symbols as standardized by the GHS system. Pictograms have been popularized in use on the web and in software, better known as icons displayed on a computer screen in order to help user navigate a computer system or mobile device
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Cat's eye (road)
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The cats eye is a retroreflective safety device used in road marking and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated in the UK in 1933 and is used all over the world. The original form consisted of two pairs of reflective glass set into a white rubber dome, mounted in a cast-iron housing. This is the kind that marks the centre of the road, a single-ended form has become widely used in other colours at road margins and as lane dividers. Cats eyes are particularly valuable in fog and are resistant to damage from snow ploughs. A key feature of the eye is the flexible rubber dome which is occasionally deformed by the passage of traffic. A fixed rubber wiper cleans the surface of the reflectors as they sink below the surface of the road, the rubber dome is protected from impact damage by metal kerbs – which also give tactile and audible feedback for wandering drivers. The inventor of cats eyes was Percy Shaw of Boothtown, Halifax, West Yorkshire, when the tram-lines were removed in the nearby suburb of Ambler Thorn, he realised that he had been using the polished strips of steel to navigate at night. The name cats eye comes from Shaws inspiration for the device, in 1934, he patented his invention, and on 15 March 1935, founded Reflecting Roadstuds Limited in Halifax to manufacture the items. The name Catseye is their trademark, the blackouts of World War II and the shuttered car headlights then in use demonstrated the value of Shaws invention and helped popularise their mass use in the UK. After the war, they received firm backing from a Ministry of Transport committee led by James Callaghan, eventually, their use spread all over the world. White cats eyes are used for the centre of a road on many roads which lack street lighting but are subject to high speeds or high volumes of traffic and they are also used for lane markings, soft traffic islands and on double white lines where no overtaking is permitted. Red cats eyes are placed along the shoulder of motorways, dual carriageways, as well as the shoulders of major A-. Amber cats eyes are placed along the edge of the central reservation, green cats eyes denote joining or leaving slip roads at junctions, or the entrances and exits of lay-bys. These units are not very visible in daylight and are used in conjunction with traditionally painted lines. Temporary cats eyes with just a reflective strip are used during motorway repair work. These are typically day glow green/yellow so they are visible in daylight as well as in darkness. Also seen during motorway repair work are plastic traffic pillars that are inserted into the socket of a cats eye rather than being free-standing
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Comparison of European road signs
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Despite an apparent uniformity and standardisation, European traffic signs present relevant differences between countries. In Russia and Belarus the road signs are almost same with some exceptions, the convention has not been adopted in Ireland, Moldova, Spain, and the UK. The design of individual pictograms, while similar, often varies in detail from country to country. Type of arrows may be different, fonts of written words This list is incomplete. You can help by adding missing countries or typeface, albania and Italy use the Alfabeto normale typeface, a heavier version of the British Transport typeface. Albania has recently started using Arial Narrow Bold typeface, Austria and Slovakia use the TERN typeface. In the past, Austria used the Austria Mittelschrift and Engschrift typefaces until 2010, Slovakia used the Universal Grotesk typeface until 2014. Belarus, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine use typefaces based on one specified in a Soviet standard ГОСТ 10807–78, in Belarus, the according standard is СТБ 1140–99. In Ukraine, it is ДСТУ 4100–2002, in Russia, it is ГОСТ Р 52290–2004. Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland used this typeface until 2003. Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Turkey, Portugal, Denmark uses the Dansk Vejtavleskrift typeface. The typeface is derived from the British Transport typeface, Estonia and Moldova use the Arial Narrow Bold in mixture with Helvetica typeface. Finland uses a typeface developed in the 1960s by the national board of roads. Germany, Czech Republic and Latvia use the DIN1451 typeface, Greece used a modified version of the British Transport typeface and, today, uses a modified version of DIN1451. Hungary does not use a typeface as the letters are defined one-by-one in the national regulation. The typeface resembles the DIN1451 typeface closely, Luxembourg uses Arial, Caractères Italic, DIN1451, and the SNV typefaces, often inconsistently. Turkey and Ukraine use the FHWA typeface, Spain uses two typefaces, Autopista for motorways and Carretera Convencional for other situations. The typeface Carretera Convencional is derived from the British Transport typeface, Netherlands use typefaces derived from FHWA typeface, ANWB/RWS Cc, Dd and Ee
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Comparison of MUTCD-influenced traffic signs
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Other non-American countries using road signs similar to the MUTCD include Australia, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, and New Zealand. They are also the countries listed here which drive on the left. There are also a number of American signatories to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, and Venezuela. Of those, only Chile, Cuba, and Guyana have ratified the treaty, nonetheless and it is also worth noting that, unlike in Europe, considerable variation within road sign designs can exist within nations, especially in multilingual areas. A notable example of this is Quebec, which uses a substantially different symbology than the rest of Canada, unlike in Europe, the text on stop signs in the Americas varies depending on language, and may be multilingual. Below is a table of the languages used. Note that in non-English speaking countries, English is frequently included on signs near airports, all countries, with the exception of the United States and Great Britain, use the metric system. Some countries mark this fact by using units on various signs, Brazil, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and parts of Canada list units on their maximum speed limit signs. In Canada and Ireland, this is a reflection of recent transitions from Imperial to metric, advisory speed limit signs in most countries list units, although New Zealand does not. The US lists units in mph, height, weight, and width restrictions are almost always accompanied by units, in the US, the short ton is used with no distinction from metric tonnes. Signs in Canada and Mexico near the US border often include both metric and Imperial units, to remind American drivers that they are entering metric countries, No such equivalent exists in the US. The US was, at one time, planning a transition to the metric system, the Metric Conversion Act of 1975 started the process, but it was halted in 1982. Nevertheless, the MUTCD specifies metric versions of speed limit signs, furthermore, Interstate 19 in Arizona is partially signed in metric. Nearly all MUTCD-influenced warning signs are diamond-shaped and yellow, some warning signs may be fluorescent yellow-green in order to draw extra attention, there are a few exceptions to this, Pentagonal signs are used in school zones in the United States, Malaysia and many areas in Canada. But in the Philippines, pentagonal signs are used for pedestrian crossings, Canada and Japan use some pentagonal white-on-blue signs, although Canada is replacing these with black-on-fluorescent yellow-green signs of the same shape. Argentina employs European-style red-bordered triangular warning signs in certain instances where extra attention is required, the Philippines also uses this style for all warning signs. Most countries use orange or yellow diamond-shaped signs for construction zones, Australia and the Philippines use rectangular signs that fit into temporary casings. Prohibitory and restrictive signs are classified as signs, as per the MUTCD
20.
Regulatory sign
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One type of regulatory signs are traffic signs intended to instruct road users on what they must or should do under a given set of circumstances. Examples of non-traffic types of regulatory signs might be signs for vehicles without disabled parking stickers or no-smoking signs where there are laws prohibiting smoking. Section 1A.13 Definitions of Words and Phrases in This Manual, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Regulatory Sign—a sign that gives notice to users of traffic laws or regulations
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Crossbuck
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A crossbuck is a sign composed of two slats of wood or metal of equal length, fastened together on a pole in a saltire formation. In the United States, the crossbuck carries the words RAIL and ROAD on one arm and CROSSING on the other, older variants simply used black and white paint, newer installations use a reflective white material with non-reflective lettering. Some antique U. S. crossbucks were painted in color schemes. Other countries, such as China, also use this layout, often, a supplemental sign below the crossbuck indicates the number of tracks at the crossing. A special kind of crossing sign assembly was introduced on a basis in Ohio in 1992. The experiments final report gave the device a favorable review, however, the plate was rejected for inclusion in the 2003 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. In Canada, crossbucks have a red border and no lettering, in Mexico, the crossbucks read CRUCERO FERROCARRIL, a literal translation of its U. S. counterpart. Older designs read CUIDADO CON EL TREN, meaning beware of the train, in Argentina, the most common legend is PELIGRO FERROCARRIL. A version with a yellow and black cross, and one with the cross in white with a red border, a special symbol in the center indicates an electric railroad crossing, cautioning road users about excessive height cargo that may contact the electric wires. In Australia, the crossbuck is a St Andrews Cross as in Europe, but uses words, in contrast to the American RAILROAD CROSSING, Australian signs say RAILWAY CROSSING or TRAMWAY CROSSING. Different countries may classify the sign differently, for example, in Australia it is considered a regulatory sign, while in close neighbour New Zealand it is considered a warning sign. Some countries, such as Australia, France, New Zealand, several countries use a sign to indicate that multiple tracks must be crossed at a level crossing. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U. S. a sign is mounted beneath the crossbuck with the number of tracks, many European countries use multiple crossbucks or additional chevrons below the first one. Taiwan also uses half-crossbucks below the regular crossbuck, several countries include the crossbuck design in their advance warning signs for a railway crossing ahead. Traffic Control for Railroad and Light Rail Transit Grade Crossings, U. S, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices,2009 ed
22.
Dead end (street)
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A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac, is a street with only one inlet/outlet. While historically built for reasons, one of its modern uses is to calm vehicle traffic. The term dead end is understood in all varieties of English, some of these are used only regionally. In the United States and other countries, cul-de-sac is often not a synonym for dead end and refers to dead ends with a circular end. See below for regionally used terms, Dead ends existed in towns and cities long before the automotive 20th century, particularly in Arab and Moorish towns. The earliest example was unearthed in the El-Lahun workers village in Egypt, the village is laid out with straight streets that intersect at right angles, akin to a grid, but irregular. Dead-end streets appeared also during the period of Athens and Rome. The 15th century architect and planner Leon Battista Alberti implies in his writings that dead-end streets may have been used intentionally in antiquity for defense purposes, the same opinion is expressed by an earlier thinker, Aristotle, when he criticized the Hippodamian grid. But for security in war the opposite, as it used to be in ancient times, for that is difficult for foreign troops to enter and find their way about when attacking. In the UK, their existence is implied by an 1875 law which banned their use in new developments. In the earlier periods, traffic was excluded from residential streets simply by gates or by employing the cul-de-sac and it was in the UK that the cul-de-sac street type was first legislated into use, with The Hampstead Garden Suburb Act 1906. Unwins applications of the cul-de-sac and the related crescent always included pedestrian paths independent of the road network, the 1906 Act defined the nature of the cul-de-sac as a non-through road and restricted its length to 500 feet. Garden cities in the UK that followed Hampstead, such as Welwyn Garden City all included culs-de-sac, the US Federal Housing Authority recommended and promoted their use through their 1936 guidelines and the power of lending development funds. In Canada, a variation of Stein’s Radburn 1929 plan that used crescents instead of culs-de-sac was built in 1947 in Manitoba, Wildwood Park, Winnipeg, the Varsity Village and Braeside, subdivisions in Calgary, Alberta also used the Radburn model in the late 1960s. Although dead end streets, i. e. Doxiadis has additionally argued their important role in separating man from machine, originally unplanned dead ends have been created in the centers of cities that are laid on a grid by blocking through traffic. A recent variation of limiting traffic is the closure by using retractable bollards which are activated by designated card holders only. However, not only do they stop cars, they also stop ambulances and other emergency vehicles, Dead ends are created in urban planning to limit through-traffic in residential areas. This design improvement, which selectively excludes one mode of transport while permitting others and its application retains the dead ends primary function as a non-through road, but establishes complete pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity
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One-way traffic
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One-way traffic is traffic that moves in a single direction. A one-way street is a street either facilitating only one-way traffic, one-way streets typically result in higher traffic flow as drivers may avoid encountering oncoming traffic or turns through oncoming traffic. Residents may dislike one-way streets due to the route required to get to a specific destination. Some studies even challenge the original motivation for one-way streets, in that the circuitous routes negate the claimed higher speeds. Signs are posted showing which direction the vehicles can move in, commonly an upward arrow, or on a T junction where the road is one-way. Sometimes one portion of a street is one-way, another portion two-way, an advantage of one-way streets is that drivers do not have to watch for vehicles coming in the opposite direction on this type of street. The abstract No Entry sign was adopted for standardization at the League of Nations convention in Geneva in 1931. The sign was adapted from Swiss usage, derived from the practice of former European states that marked their boundaries with their formal shield symbols, restrictions on entry were indicated by tying a blood-red ribbon horizontally around the shield. The sign is known as C1, from its definition in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs. The European No Entry sign was adopted into North American uniform signage in the 1970s, in addition to the standardized graphic symbol, the US version still retains the wording Do Not Enter, while the European and Canadian versions typically have no text. Since Unicode 5.2, the Miscellaneous Symbols block contains the glyph ⛔, representable in HTML as ⛔, or ⛔. One-way streets may be part of a system, which facilitates a smoother flow of motor traffic through, for example. This is achieved by arranging one-way streets that cross in such a fashion as to eliminate right turns or left turns, traffic light systems at such junctions may be simpler and may be coordinated to produce a green wave. In the United States,37 states and Puerto Rico allow left turns on red only if both the origin and destination streets are one way, see South Carolina law Section 56-5-970 C3, for example. Five other states, namely Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Oregon, an attempt was apparently made in 1617 to introduce one-way streets in alleys near the River Thames in London. The next one-way street in London was Albemarle Street in Mayfair and it was so designated in 1800 because the public science lectures were so popular there. The first one-way streets in Paris were the Rue de Mogador, one story of the origin of the one-way street in the United States originated in Eugene, Oregon. On 9 September 1934, the on-fire SS Morro Castle was towed to the shore near the Asbury Park Convention Center, the Asbury Park Police Chief decided to make the Ocean Avenue one-way going north and the street one block over in one-way going south, creating a circular route
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Speed limit
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Road speed limits are used in most countries to set the maximum speed at which road vehicles may legally travel on particular stretches of road. Speed limits may be variable and in some places speeds are unlimited, Speed limits are normally indicated on a traffic sign. Speed limits are set by the legislative bodies of nations or provincial governments. The first maximum speed limit was the 10 mph limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861, the highest posted speed limit in the world is 140 km/h, which applies to some roads in Poland and Bulgaria, similarly Texas posts 85 mph on one 40-mile long toll road. However, some roads have no speed limit for certain classes of vehicles, best known are Germanys less congested Autobahns, where automobile drivers have no mandated maximum speed. Measurements from the German state of Brandenburg in 2006 showed average speeds of 142 km/h on a 6-lane section of autobahn in free-flowing conditions, rural roads on the Isle of Man and the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana, also lack speed limits. Speed limits are set to attempt to cap road traffic speed. It is often done with an intention to improve traffic safety. Speed limits may also be set in an attempt to reduce the impact of road traffic. Some cities have reduced limits to as little as 30 km/h for both safety and efficiency reasons, however, it has also been shown that in some circumstances changing a speed limit has little effect on the average speed of cars. In situations where the road speed is considered too high by governments. For some classes of vehicle, speed limiters may be mandated to enforce compliance, since their introduction, speed limits have been opposed by some motoring advocacy groups. The United Kingdom Stage Carriage Act 1832 first introduced the offense of endangering the safety of a passenger or person by furious driving. The Locomotives on Highways Act 1896, which raised the limit to 14 mph is celebrated to this day by the annual London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The first person to be convicted of speeding is believed to be Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent and he was fined 1 shilling plus costs. In Australia, during the early 20th century, there were reported for furious driving offences. One conviction in 1905 cited furiously driving 20 mph when passing a tram traveling at half that speed. Most jurisdictions use the metric speed unit of kilometers per hour for speed limits, while some, primarily the United States, Australia followed the United Kingdom system before changing to the metric system in the 1970s
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Speed limits by country
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A road speed limit is the limit of speed allowed by law for road vehicles, usually the maximum speed allowed. Occasionally there is a speed limit. Speed limits are set by the legislative bodies of national or local governments. The following tables show various jurisdictions default speed limits apply to different types of vehicles travelling on three different types of road. Actual speed limits may range beyond these values, speeds are listed in kilometers per hour. The enforcement tolerance is specified in km/h or percentage above the stated limit, for the United Kingdom and the United States, the speed limit is also listed in miles per hour in brackets. Germany, with its Autobahns, is the country without a general speed limit on its highways. The Isle of Man is the jurisdiction without a general speed limit on rural two-lane roads. American interstate highways are patrolled by law enforcement, typically referred to as Highway Patrol. Speed limit enforcement is the most profitable part of their duty, enforcement varies notably between states and traffic conditions. Montana and Nebraska have high tolerance toward speeding, more states are experimenting with variable speed limits, with electronic speed limit displays replacing fixed-number signs. The idea is to speed limits with traffic and weather conditions. From 1980, regulations for 30 km/h zones were enacted and have been widely applied
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Advisory speed limit
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An advisory speed limit is a speed recommendation by a governing body, used when it may be non-obvious to the driver that the safe speed is below the legal speed. It is a posting which approximates the Basic Speed Law or rule, Advisory speed limits are often set in areas with many pedestrians, such as in city centers and outside schools, and on difficult stretches of roads, such as on tight corners or through roadworks. The advisory speed limit when not posted is generally the same as the speed limit in ideal conditions. As local councils require consent from the Department for Transport before changing speed limits, the Richtgeschwindigkeit is a legal term in Germany describing the advisory speed limit for roads without a mandatory speed limit. Autobahns have a speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour on non-signposted sections. Until 31 August 2009, a different reference speed could be posted by the traffic signs number 380 and 381, according to §42 of the German traffic code, as these traffic signs were only rarely used, they meanwhile have been abolished. The signage for advisory speed limits is not defined by the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, though they list speeds, the U. S. advisory speed signs are classified as warning signs, not regulatory signs, as primary speed signs are. Australia uses a design as the U. S. in spite of regulatory speed limit signs being quite different. Germany uses a square sign with a background and white lettering, similar to the minimum speed limit sign. The United Kingdom currently uses a white rectangle with black lettering stating Max Speed. Media related to Advisory speed limit road signs at Wikimedia Commons
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Variable-message sign
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Such signs warn of traffic congestion, accidents, incidents, roadwork zones, or speed limits on a specific highway segment. In urban areas, VMS are used within parking guidance and information systems to guide drivers to car parking spaces. They may also ask vehicles to take alternative routes, limit travel speed, vMSs were deployed at least as early as the 1950s on the New Jersey Turnpike. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority replaced those signs with more flexible electronic signs between 2010 and 2016, the current VMS systems are largely deployed on freeways, trunk highways, or in work zones. Since the late 1990s, the most common used in new installations for variable message signs are LED displays. In recent years, some newer LED variable message signs have the ability to display colored text, dot-matrix variable message signs are divided into three subgroups, character matrix, row matrix, and full matrix. In a character matrix VMS, each character is given its own matrix with equal spacing between them, typically with two or three rows of characters. In a full matrix VMS, the sign is a single large dot matrix display, allowing the display of different fonts. Overhead variable message signs are available in three form factors, front access, rear access, and walk-in. In a front access variable message sign, maintenance is performed by lifting the sign open from the front, most smaller VMS are of the front access form factor, and are typically installed today on major arterials. The walk-in form factor is a recent introduction, where maintenance on the sign is performed from the inside of the sign. A key advantage of the form factor is that lane closures are generally not required to perform maintenance on the sign. Most of the largest VMS units installed today are walk-in units, the NJ Turnpike Authority counts five unique types of variable message signs under its jurisdiction, at least one of which has been replaced by newer signs. They are, REDUCE SPEED neon signs, electronic VMS, signs with remotely controlled messages displayed on them, the messages are sent from the State Traffic Management Center, updating the signs automatically. Variable speed limit signs - used for varying the speed limits within work zones. A portable VMS has much the same characteristics as a fixed electronic VMS, early models required an operator to be physically present when programming a message, whereas newer models may be reprogrammed remotely via a wired or wireless network or cellphone connection. A complete message on a panel generally includes a statement indicating incident, roadwork. A location statement indicating where the incident is located, a statement indicating lane closure, delay, etc
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Bilingual sign
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A bilingual sign is the representation on a panel of texts in more than one language. The use of signs is usually reserved for situations where there is legally administered bilingualism or where there is a relevant tourist or commercial interest. However, more informal uses of bilingual signs are found on businesses in areas where there is a high degree of bilingualism. Beyond bilingualism, there is a tendency toward the substitution of internationally standardized symbols. The use of signs has experienced a remarkable expansion in recent times. The increase in bilingualism there has been paralleled by increases in international travel, as a result, all street signs in the Brussels Capital Region are bilingual in Dutch and French. Another example is the German-speaking South Tyrol, which was annexed to Italy during World War I, in observance of international treaties, Italy was eventually compelled to acknowledge and accommodate its German-speaking citizens through the use of bilingual signs and countless other measures. In Greece, virtually all signs are bilingual, with the Greek text in yellow font, if the sign is Greek only, an equivalent sign in English will often be situated nearby. Bilingual signs are used in the Republic of Ireland, with all roads, towns. The Irish appears on the top of the sign with the English underneath, the exception to this is in Gaeltacht regions, where only Irish language signage tends to be used. In Finland, the multilingual signs appeared at the end of the 19th century, the signs were in the official languages Swedish, Finnish and, during that period, also Russian. After the independence of Finland, the signs became bilingual Finnish - Swedish in the bilingual areas of the country. Bilingual signs are used in the United Kingdom, in Wales, Welsh and English are official languages and most road signs are bilingual. Each local authority decides which language is shown first, in Scotland, Scottish Gaelic is increasingly visible on road signs, not only in the north-west and on the islands, but also on main primary routes. Railway station signs and signs on buildings such as the Scottish Parliament are increasingly bilingual. In parts of Slovenia, where languages other than Slovene are official and this regulation is not always strictly enforced, but nevertheless all road signs in these areas are bilingual. In Turkey bilingual village signs are used in Eastern Anatolia Region Airports, european airports have signs that are generally bilingual with the local language and English, although there are significant variations between countries. In multilingual countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, airports generally have signs in three or four languages, provincial road signs are also bilingual in French-designated areas of Manitoba and Ontario
29.
Driver location sign
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Only roads in England feature these signs, they are not found on roads in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This information might be useful in the event of an emergency or breakdown and they were first introduced in 2003, and they complement distance marker posts. Both types of display an unique location number. The number, although given without units, is the distance in kilometres from a designated location for the road. While the driver location signs are metric, other road signs throughout the UK use imperial measurements, since at least 1980, motorways have had distance marker posts installed at 100 metre intervals alongside the hard shoulder. These posts are used to help pinpoint road locations for maintenance and emergency purposes, on the M25 for example, distances are referenced to a point near Junction 31 even though the section of the ring road between Junction 31 and Junction 1a is the A282, not the M25. On motorways distance marker posts also bear an arrow pointing towards the location of the nearest emergency telephone, the number used on distance marker posts is also encoded into the numbers associated with motorway emergency roadside telephones. In this way motorway control centre staff can pinpoint the telephone from which a call is being made, items of highway furniture are commonly uniquely identified by a code number attached to or stencilled onto them. On motorways the number from the closest distance location marker is incorporated into such identifiers. They are also sent in the signal from traffic cameras to identify the location of the camera and these signs give the same location information as distance marker posts, but more visibly on larger signs, which are generally placed at 500-metre intervals. If obstacles prevent signs from being spaced at 500-metre intervals, then the interval must be reduced to either 400 or 300 metres. By the end of the 2009 financial year,80 percent of Englands motorway network had been fitted with 16,000 driver location signs at a cost of £5.9 million. It was expected that the remaining 20% of the network would be covered by April 2010 at a cost of £1.6 million. As of July 2009 driver location signs had not been erected in Scotland, by the early 2000s mobile phones were being used as the primary means of reporting accidents. This required the government to rethink marker posts, the need for more visible roadside location information was shown in 2007, in an incident on a motorway before the driver location signs had been erected. The Devon and Somerset Fire & Rescue Service reported that after a collision on the M5. Callers gave the operators locations stretching over 40 miles of road, as a result, four emergency service centres were mobilised instead of just one. Research on trial sections of motorways showed that emergency service organisations responded 10 percent more rapidly when a motorway had driver location signs than when it did not
30.
Logo sign
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Logo signs are blue road signs used on freeways that display the logos of businesses prior to an interchange. Typically, a business pays fees to a department to have their logos displayed on a large panel alongside other businesses. In the United States, logo signs were permitted on rural Interstates in 1965 as part of the Highway Beautification Act, originally, such signs were limited to the following categories, gas, food, lodging, and camping. The 1976 amendments to the Highway Beautification Act expanded the program to federal-aid primary rural highways, as of 2015, logo signs are permitted on urban highways in 16 states, with Tennessee being the most recent state to repeal the restriction for installing logo signs on rural highways only. The 2000 MUTCD also added the category, followed by the 2003 MUTCD which added the 24-hour pharmacies category. Logo signs in the United States are limited to six logos per sign, in California, as well as on the Pennsylvania Turnpike the label GAS is replaced by FUEL. Logo signs are found along highways in Ontario, namely 400-series highways 400 and 401. A separate signage is used for ONroute rest areas
31.
Priority to the right
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Priority to the right is a right-of-way system, in which the driver of a vehicle is required to give way to vehicles approaching from the right at intersections. The system is stipulated in Article 18.4, the system is widely used in countries with right-hand traffic, including most European countries. What varies, however, is the prevalence of uncontrolled intersections, in some countries, the right of way at virtually all but the most minor road junctions is controlled by the display of priority vs. Most states in the United States enforce priority-to-the-right at uncontrolled intersections, at T-Intersections, traffic on the terminating road must yield to all traffic at the termination point. Some countries use the rule, despite driving on the left. Australia uses the rule at four-way intersections where the roads all have equal priority. Singapore also uses priority-to-the-right, as well as priority to vehicles going straight, intersections to which priority to the right applies are usually not equipped with signage or road markings. Priority signs override the priority to the rule and are often used on roads with heavier traffic. However, if an intersection is not easily visible, a sign may be erected. This sign does not regulate priority but just warns of an intersection, white, yellow and black diamond signs on the main road show that users have priority over entering traffic. Under the priority-to-the-right system, priority is given to traffic entering an intersection from the right. In Switzerland, road markings may also be used to indicate that the junction is a priority-to-the-right junction
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Road signs in Botswana
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Road signs in Botswana are based on the SADC-RTSM, a document designed to harmonise traffic signs in member states of the Southern Africa Development Community. A white background signifies the sign is permanent, while a yellow background signifies that the sign is temporary, warning signs are an upwards-pointing red triangle and black pictogram describing the danger or obstruction. Speed limit signs are a red circle with the limitation in black, in 2013, Botswana has begun replacing the blue signs with a permanent white or a temporary yellow background as used in neighboring countries such as South Africa. In 2015, the text NO ENTRY was removed on the No entry sign
33.
Road signs in Mauritius
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Road signs in Mauritius are standardised traffic signs used in Mauritius according to the Traffic Signs Regulations 1990. They are heavily modelled on road signs in the United Kingdom, the traffic sign are divided into three classes, circles gives orders, triangles warns of possible dangers and rectangles gives information. Different colours are use within these shapes, blue circles are signs, it give positive instructions, while red circles are prohibitory signs. Blue rectangles give general information while green rectangles are use for direction sign on main roads, however, there are two exception for these shapes and colour rules, that is the octagonal Stop sign and the inverted red triangle Give way sign. Regulatory signs are intended to instruct road users on what they must or should do under a set of circumstances. Warning signs indicates a hazard ahead on the road that may not be apparent to a driver. Prohibitory signs are used to prohibit types of manoeuvres or some types of traffic. The No symbol surrounding a pictogram is used to something that is not permitted. Mandatory signs are used to set the obligations of all traffic which use an area of road. Unlike prohibitory or restrictive signs, mandatory signs tell traffic what it must do, rather than must not do
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Road signs in South Africa
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Road signs in South Africa are based on the SADC-RTSM, a document designed to harmonise traffic signs in member states of the Southern Africa Development Community. Most of these signs were in the preceding South African RTSM, a white background signifies the sign is permanent, while a yellow background signifies that the sign is temporary. Warning signs are a red triangle and black pictogram describing the danger or obstruction. Speed limit signs are a red circle with the limitation in black, South Africa drives on the left
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