Traffic Rule Pavement Safety Traffic Reflective Road Signs As Per Customer Request

Traffic signs are critical elements of the highway because they communicate the rules,

warnings, guidance, and other highway agency information that drivers need to safely and

efficiently navigate roads and streets. Well maintained signs are important as they help

drivers make good decisions. This guide is intended to help local agency maintenance workers

ensure their signs are maintained to meet this need.

Regulatory Signs
The rules of the road—the laws and regulations—are often communicated through regulatory

signs. These are important signs to maintain because the absence of, or damage to, a

regulatory sign could result in or contribute to a severe crash.

Regulatory signs are usually a combination of black, white and red colors as shown by these

examples.

Damaged or missing regulatory signs (especially the STOP, YIELD, ONE WAY, and DO NOT ENTER

signs) should be replaced or repaired within hours of the agency having notice of them

missing, down, or damaged.

Warning Signs
Warning signs are important because they provide drivers with advance notice of potentially

hazardous situations or conditions of the road ahead that may not be apparent. They are

particularly helpful to motorists who are unfamiliar with a particular road.

Warning signs, such as these, have a yellow background.

Damaged or missing warning signs should be repaired or replaced as soon as possible. As a

general rule, deficiencies should be corrected within three days of notice.

Sign Face Sheeting

The sign face consists of film material, called sheeting, which is comprised of glass beads

or microprisms to provide visibility at night. Highway signs, that are not illuminated by

external lights, are visible at night because they have sheeting made of retroreflective

material. Retro-reflection is a type of reflection that redirects incident light from the

sign face back to the source—the vehicle headlights.