A regulatory sign is used to indicate or reinforce
traffic laws, 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 city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...
or
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
, 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
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
defines ''regulatory sign'' as "a sign that gives notice to road users of traffic laws or regulations".
Traffic signs
Regulatory
traffic signs 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 (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...
s only
)
United States
Regulatory traffic signs within the United States must comply with the federal
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (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, physica ...
parking stickers or no-smoking signs where there are laws prohibiting
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
.
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 traffic ...
– Traffic signs that inform of hazards on roadways.
*
Prohibitory sign – Traffic signs that inform of prohibited actions.
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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 in shape and may use white symbols on a blue background with a white border, or black sym ...
– Traffic signs that inform of required actions.
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Direction, position, or indication sign – Traffic signs that indicate directions, routes.
References
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Street furniture
Traffic signs
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