RoadSignFunFact: Standardization In 1922, representatives from Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota toured several states in order to generate ideas for uniform signs and street markings. They made it their goal to develop a system that matched unique shapes to specific messages: Round — Railroad crossing Octagon — Stop sign Diamond — Curve ahead Square — Caution or attention Rectangle — Mileage and speed limit signs This would make signs more helpful in the nighttime, especially as drivers could identify shapes before reading the signs words. All signs would be black text on a white background and 2 square feet in size. These recommendations were presented in January 1923 to the Mississippi Valley Association of State Highway Departments and later to the American Association of State Highway Officials. They became the basis for the earliest national standardization, which was made official in 1935. A few decades of earnest confusion followed. It wasnt until 1948 that the United States government made a concerted effort to simplify and standardize each sign. AnotherFunFact: Artist Tripp Gregson makes functional and funky things out of traffic signs. Check them out at TrippworX.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 00:58:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015