Editing Traffic sign (section)

==History==
[[File:20140822 kuninkaantien-mailimerkki ore-e-ref c q xxx e-1-a hevoslinja pho.jpg|thumb|An old road sign of the [[King's Road (Finland)|King's Road]] between [[Perniö]] and [[Ekenäs, Finland|Ekenäs]] in [[Finland]]]]
The earliest road signs were [[milestone]]s, giving distance or direction; for example, the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] erected stone columns throughout their empire giving the distance to Rome. According to Strabo, [[Maurya Empire|Mauryas]] erected signboards at distance of 10 [[Stadion (unit)|stades]] to mark their roads.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Prasad|first=Prakash Charan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RSW8az3Q_dEC|title=Foreign Trade and Commerce in Ancient India|date=1977|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-053-2|pages=117|language=en}}</ref> In the [[Middle Ages]], multidirectional signs at intersections became common, giving directions to cities and towns.

In 1686, the first known Traffic Regulation Act in Europe was established by King [[Peter II of Portugal]]. This act foresaw the placement of [[priority sign]]s in the narrowest streets of [[Lisbon]], stating which traffic should back up to give way. One of these signs still exists at Salvador street, in [[Alfama|the neighborhood of Alfama]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Antanho) |first=J. E. Fraga Aurélio (lisboa De |date=2016-02-21 |title=Lisboa de Antigamente: Rua do Salvador |url=https://lisboadeantigamente.blogspot.com/2016/02/rua-do-salvador.html |access-date=2025-02-22 |website=Lisboa de Antigamente}}</ref>

The first modern road signs erected on a wide scale were designed for riders of high or "ordinary" bicycles in the late 1870s and early 1880s. These machines were fast, silent and their nature made them difficult to control, moreover their riders travelled considerable distances and often preferred to tour on unfamiliar roads. For such riders, [[cycling organization]]s began to erect signs that warned of potential hazards ahead (particularly steep hills), rather than merely giving distance or directions to places, thereby contributing the sign type that defines "modern" traffic signs.

The development of automobiles encouraged more complex [[signage systems]] using more than just text-based notices. One of the first modern-day road sign systems was devised by the Italian Touring Club in 1895. By 1900, a Congress of the International League of Touring Organizations in Paris was considering proposals for standardization of road signage. In 1903 the British government introduced four "national" signs based on shape, but the basic patterns of most traffic signs were set at the 1908 World Road Congress in [[Paris]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2015}} In 1909, nine European governments agreed on the use of four pictorial symbols, indicating "bump", "curve", "intersection", and "grade-level railroad crossing". The intensive work on international road signs that took place between 1926 and 1949 eventually led to the development of the European road sign system. Both Britain and the United States developed their own road signage systems, both of which were adopted or modified by many other nations in their respective spheres of influence. The UK adopted a version of the European road signs in 1964 and, over past decades, North American signage began using some symbols and graphics mixed in with English.

In the U.S., the first road signs were erected by the American Automobile Association (AAA). Starting in 1906, regional AAA clubs began paying for and installing wooden signs to help motorists find their way. In 1914, AAA started a cohesive transcontinental signage project, installing more than 4,000 signs in one stretch between Los Angeles and Kansas City alone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magazine.northeast.aaa.com/daily/life/aaa/where-did-the-first-road-signs-come-from/|title=Where Did the First Road Signs Come From?|date=2019-12-18|website=Your AAA Network|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-21}}</ref>

Over the years, change was gradual. Pre-industrial signs were stone or wood, but with the development of Darby's method of smelting iron using coke-painted cast iron became favoured in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Cast iron continued to be used until the mid-20th century, but it was gradually displaced by aluminium or other materials and processes, such as vitreous enamelled and/or pressed malleable iron, or (later) steel. Since 1945 most signs have been made from sheet aluminium with adhesive plastic coatings; these are normally [[Retroreflector|retroreflective]] for nighttime and low-light visibility. Before the development of reflective plastics, reflectivity was provided by glass reflectors set into the lettering and symbols.

New generations of traffic signs based on electronic displays can also change their text (or, in some countries, symbols) to provide for "intelligent control" linked to automated traffic sensors or remote manual input. In over 20 countries, real-time [[Traffic Message Channel]] incident warnings are conveyed directly to vehicle navigation systems using inaudible signals carried via FM radio, 3G cellular data and satellite broadcasts. Finally, cars can pay tolls and trucks pass safety screening checks using video numberplate scanning, or RFID transponders in windshields linked to antennae over the road, in support of on-board signalling, toll collection, and travel time monitoring.

Yet another "medium" for transferring information ordinarily associated with visible signs is [[RIAS (Remote Infrared Audible Signage)]], e.g., "talking signs" for print-handicapped (including blind/low-vision/illiterate) people. These are infra-red transmitters serving the same purpose as the usual graphic signs when received by an appropriate device such as a hand-held receiver or one built into a cell phone.

Then, finally, in 1914, the world's first electric traffic signal is put into place on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, on August 5.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" class="center">
File:Campidoglio - il miliarium.JPG|Roman milestone
File:SinalTransitoSalvador.JPG|17th century traffic sign in Salvador street, [[Lisbon]], Portugal stating which traffic should back up to give way:<br>''Year of 1686. [[Peter II of Portugal|His Majesty]] commands all [[coach (vehicle)|coach]]es, [[carriage]]s and [[litter (vehicle)|litter]]s coming from Salvador's entrance to back up to the same part''
</gallery>