Talk:Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

Citations needed?
It would be useful if whomever placed the 'Citations Needed' tag on this article stated where they think citations are missing! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Triskele Jim (talk • contribs) 17:45, 7 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I'm going to remove this tag if no in-text requests for citations can be produced.Synchronism (talk) 22:50, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Well, the TAMU history page that should be added back to the links section can be used to specifically cite the history section. Furthermore, additional documents should be cited, including Standard Highway Signs (which IIRC has the font specification). Also a bit funny that font isn't hyperlinked to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FHWA_Series_fonts. Jpgs (talk) 14:56, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

2009 edition
The 2009 MUTCD is now out, so the article graphics should be updated to those from the '09 edition. Mapsax (talk) 00:35, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Old MUTCDs online
At the bottom of this page (which is listed in the External Links section of the article), there are links to old MUTCDs either on that site or elsewhere on the web. Those could be used to flesh out the History section. Mapsax (talk) 07:09, 27 June 2010 (UTC)

Michigan
Michigan has state supplement the map is wrong http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/knowledge/natl_adopt_2000_2003.htm St8fan (talk) 10:13, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

contradiction?
§ Other jurisdictions includes the sentences
 * Compared to the Vienna Convention, the MUTCD stresses a consistent color scheme (e.g., red always means "prohibited" or "prepare to stop") and relatively large, . MUTCD than their equivalents in Vienna Convention countries, since they are optimized for reading at high speeds on freeways and expressways.

At first sight this seems to be contradictory, since there has been no previous distinction made between guide signs and warning signs. Although the difference seems clear once the reader thinks about it, explicit definitions based on or quoted from the Manual would spare the reader that unnecessary mental detour.

Thnidu (talk) 23:47, 1 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Section 2D-02.01 - "Guide signs are essential to direct road users along streets and highways, to inform them of intersecting routes,

to direct them to cities, towns, villages, or other important destinations, to identify nearby rivers and streams, parks, forests, and historical sites, and generally to give such information as will help them along their way in the most simple, direct manner possible.
 * Section 2C-01.01 - "Warning signs call attention to unexpected conditions on or adjacent to a highway, street, or private roads open to public travel and to situations that might not be readily apparent to road users. Warning signs alert road users to conditions that might call for a reduction of speed or an action in the interest of safety and efficient traffic operations."


 * This could be summarized as "Guide (or guidance) signs direct or inform road users of their location or of destinations. Warning signs alert users of unexpected or hazardous road conditions that may not be readily apparent." -  Floydian  τ ¢  18:21, 12 August 2017 (UTC)
 * I had just come to this talk page to ask about that exact section as I had not noticed the guide vs warning distinction. I have rewritten the section to incorporate Floydian's summary.--Khajidha (talk) 16:46, 13 December 2017 (UTC)

Pronunciation
The virtual presentation The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) – General Overview of Proposed Changes 3-18-21_1 says that the named should be pronounced "M-U-T-C-D" and not as a combination of letters. I would cite it but it's tough to isolate the frame that says it (there's a PDF linked but that's tough to isolate, too), so it might not be worth it for something that's probably trivia, but it's there in case it becomes an issue. Mapsax (talk) 23:20, 27 May 2021 (UTC)
 * For people in the transportation and/or planning fields, MUTCD has always been pronounced by its initials or referenced by its full name. I don't know if it would be worthy to note as it seems common for federal programs except for cases like National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which is pronounced "NITZ-ah". – The Grid  ( talk )  03:58, 28 May 2021 (UTC)
 * The main reason why I brought this up is because the slide explicitly says not to pronounce it like your NHTSA example. If it's not an issue, though, I'm OK letting it be. Mapsax (talk) 00:05, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

About the removal of "funny messages"
The newsgroups reporting on this change seem to stem from The Guardian here. As much as it's a verifiable source, their news bait with the title is what isn't described in the article. They actually provide a better context about the MUTCD:

The MUTCD never states signs cannot display messages intended to be humorous or with pop culture references and in Section 2L.02 (pages 510 and 511) mentions: "01 CMS shall display only traffic operational, regulatory, warning, and guidance information except as otherwise provided in this Chapter. Advertising or other messages not related to traffic control shall not be displayed on a CMS or on its supports or other equipment.

02 CMS may display traffic safety campaign messages (see Section 2L.07), transportation-related messages, emergency homeland security messages, and America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) alert messages, all as provided for in this Chapter.

03 Transportation-related messages for the purpose of improving traffic conditions, such as those providing information on alternative means of transportation, electronic toll collection, or carpooling may be displayed to remind or inform drivers of relevant options or opportunities for transportation.

04 Messages regarding broader transportation items not related to improving traffic conditions, such as reminders of driver’s license or vehicle registration renewal, vehicle recall information, and vehicle maintenance, do not meet the purpose of a transportation-related message."

It could be something the feds might look into further but it never states "banning", it's about bringing into compliance. The 2026 date comes from the standard 2 years after publishing the newest edition of MUTCD (unless the compliance date is specifically mentioned in Table 1B-1).

tldr; much ado about nothing – The Grid  ( talk )  14:13, 25 January 2024 (UTC)


 * I never said that the feds "banned" funny VMS messages (other than headlines of reliable sources that I handpicked). I said that they "strongly discouraged" such messages. AlphaBeta135  talk  01:27, 1 February 2024 (UTC)