Signposts in the UK

The UK is located in the western part of the European continent, with a total area of about 243,000km2 and a population of about 60 million. The total mileage of the country's roads is about 400,000km, of which about 3,000km are motorways, with London as the centre, there are four longitudinal and transverse motorways leading to the major cities in the country. London is the capital of the United Kingdom, the political and economic centre of the Commonwealth and one of the most famous cities in the world. Despite its long history, many of the city's streets are very narrow, but incredibly well managed, thanks to a clear ‘road language’ system.

In London, the combination of the ring plus radioactive motorway, supplemented by trunk roads, local roads, forming a well-connected road network. Roads in the network have their own numbers, of which the motorway number starts with a capital M letter, such as the ring highway M25, radioactive motorway M1, M3, M4, M11, etc.; in addition to the motorway, the rest is marked with the A prefix of the trunk road, that is, the national highway, and there are also B prefix of the local roads, which connect the motorway and a residential area into an organic whole.

The road traffic signs published by the United Kingdom in 2001 include warning signs, prohibition signs, directional signs, motorway signs, trunk road signs, secondary and local road signs, other signs (tourist signs, etc.) and information signs (service areas, car parks, etc.), and signs for construction zones in a total of nine categories. Sign colours include red, yellow, blue, white, black, grey, brown, green and orange-red 9 kinds. British wayfinding signs are colourful, and different colours can be chosen on the same sign face according to different types of information, but as far as the base colour of wayfinding signs is concerned, there are mainly the following: white border on blue background is used for motorways: white border on green background is used for arterial highways, and black lettering on white background is used for general roads: red border on white background is used for Warning Day Signs: green border on white background is used for airport-only roads. The following section highlights the important sign types for motorways, trunk roads and general roads in the UK in January.

1. Highway wayfinding signs

Britain's motorway number starts with the letter M, and the wayfinding sign is a rectangular sign with white letters on a blue background, which is very different from the sign with white letters on a green background used in domestic motorways:

( a ) is the entrance sign of the motorway, which is usually set up at the intersection of the local roads, and the face of the sign is made in the shape of an arrow, which directly indicates the direction of entrance to the motorway, and the face of the sign displays the number and main destinations that can be reached by the motorway: ( b ) is the location sign of the motorway. The sign shows the number of the motorway and the main destinations that can be reached. In addition, the number of the interchange of the motorway is also made into a small square with white characters on a black background and displayed on the sign:

( b ) is the location-distance preview sign of the motorway, which is generally installed in the suitable position between two interchanges to preview the destinations that can be reached in front of the destination and the distance. This kind of sign exists in all countries, but the format varies. The format in the United Kingdom mainly consists of the first row displaying the number of the motorway where it is located, the second row displaying the direction of travel on the road, and the third row displaying the destinations and distances, generally displaying information on two to three destinations and arranging them according to the order of proximity and distance, from top to bottom: ( c ). ( d ). ( e ) are highway exit warning signs, their common point is that they are marked with white letters on a black background of the interchange exit number and the distance to the exit fork, but the format and content from the sign face have their own characteristics.

( c ) highlights the interchange exit fork arrow and only shows information about the direction of exit, which is usually a combination of the name of the location and the road number: Nottingham via the A52;

( d ) shows both the direction of exit and the mainline ahead, and highlights a vertically downward lane indicator arrow to prompt drivers to follow the lane: the exit lane is on the left, with Marlow via the A404; in the centre and on the right is the mainline ahead; and in the middle and on the right is the mainline ahead, with Marlow as the exit lane, and the exit lane on the left. Marlow, the middle and right hand side are the mainline forward lanes, showing the motorway as the M40, which leads to Birmingham and Oxford.

( e ) also shows the information of exit direction and mainline forward at the same time, and the information of each direction is also a combination of the name of the location and the road number, the difference is that it does not take the vertical downward lane assignment indicator arrow, but uses the upward inclined arrow to indicate the exit direction, and uses the vertical upward arrow to indicate the direction of the forward direction, so that the driver can flexibly select the travelling lane according to the need and the situation on the spot.