Road signs in the Confederation of Mahuset

Road signs in the Confederation of Mahuset are regulated by the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Mahusetan Institute of Normalisation and Standardisation. Signs in Mahuset usually follow the general European conventions, and thus conforms to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, concerning the use of shape and colour to indicate function. Therefore signs indicating dangers are triangular with a red border, those giving orders are almost all circular (white on blue for mandatory instructions, black on white with a red border for prohibitions), and those providing information are rectangular. Most signs use pictograms to convey their particular meaning. As is customary in European countries, all signs are partly or fully reflectorised or are provided with their own night-time illumination with Mahusetan road signs depicting people with stylised (as opposed to realistic) silhouettes.

Concepts and design
Road signs in the Confederation of Mahuset are governed by a complex and detailed set of guidelines. The basic units of measurement used by sign designers are the 'x-height' (the height of the lower case letter 'x') and the 'stroke width' (sw) (4 sw = 1 x-height). The sizes of borders, symbols and arrows and the spacing and layout of the sign face are expressed in sw, so that all the elements remain in proportion. The x-height of a sign is dictated mainly by the speed of traffic approaching it, hence 300mm x-heights are common on motorways, whereas parking signs are mostly at 15mm or 20mm x-height.

Units
Mahuset uses the metric system on road signs. Distances are measured in kilometres or metres; speeds are measured in kilometres per hour; heights, widths, and lengths are measured in metres; and weights are measured in metric tonnes.

Shape
Almost all signs have rounded corners. This is partly for aesthetic reasons. It is also safer for anyone coming into contact with a sign, and it makes the sign more durable, as rain and snow are less likely to corrode the corners.

Typefaces
One typeface is specified for and typically used by Mahusetan road signs: Overpass.

The font is officially regulated by the 2022 Roads Act. It defines Overpass for uppercase letters, lowercase letters and digits, "positive" uses (dark on light background) and "negative" uses (light on dark background). Usage of Overpass is usually mixed case.

Warning signs
The importance of a warning sign is emphasised by the red border drawn around it and the triangular shape. Some warning sings do not have a red border like sharp deviation. Priority through the junction is indicated by the broader line. Examples below exclude low bridges, railway and tramway level crossings, bus and pedal cycle facilities, traffic calming and road works.

Speed limit signs
The Mahusetan national speed limit for cars and motorcycles in areas of street lighting (excluding Motorways) is 30 kilometres per hours. Other limits may apply if they are specifically signed

Motorway signs
For use on busy motorways and other wide roads where verge mounted signs would be frequently obstructed by other traffic.

An advance direction sign (ADS) generally has blue, green or white as its background colour to indicate the status of road (motorway, primary or non-primary) on which it is placed. Except on the main carriageway of a motorway, coloured panels are used to indicate routes from the junction being signed that have a different status. A direction sign (DS) should always be a single colour indicating the status of the road to be joined, although there are a few rare exceptions to this rule.

The Heavy and Medium typefaces were designed to compensate for the optical illusion that makes dark lines on pale backgrounds appear narrower than pale lines on dark backgrounds. Hence destinations are written in mixed case white Transport Medium on green and blue backgrounds, and in black Transport Heavy on white backgrounds. Route numbers are coloured yellow when placed directly on a green background. Some signs logically show the closest destination on the route first (i.e., on top), while others show the most distant settlement first. On a roundabout DS, the route locations are usually listed with the closest destination at the bottom and the furthest away at the top when going straight ahead, and likewise going left and right. However, many left-right signs more logically indicate the closest destination at the top with further afield destinations listed in descending order.

Destinations/roads which cannot be directly accessed on a driver's current actual route, but can be accessed via an artery route of that carriageway, are displayed in brackets.

All types of ADS (but not DS) may optionally have the junction name at the top of the sign in capital letters in a separate panel.

A route confirmatory sign is placed either after a junction where distances were not shown on the ADS or DS or is placed on an overhead information sign but does not show distances to the destinations along that route.

Diversion routes
Diversion routes are marked with black symbols on a yellow patch (square, triangle, circle, or diamond). These mark diversionary routes in the event that the road ahead is closed for any reasons. Motorists can navigate following the symbol, and can find their way back to the original road at a junction above the closure. The four symbols may be filled (solid) or outlines. They are most commonly placed on directional signs, following the route number (e.g. A 25) but may be free standing.

Motorway exits have trigger signs that are normally covered. In the event of a closure, the sign is uncovered and will say, for instance, "To rejoin M6 follow (symbol)". Following the symbol will allow rejoining at a later junction.

On minor roads a simple black on yellow sign with an arrow and the word Diversion is used, as here.

Auxiliary signs
Some signs might not convey all necessary information, in those cases an auxiliary sign is used.

Uncategorised signs

 * Bob
 * Mono
 * Don't drive badly

Street name signs
Legally these are not defined as traffic signs in the UK. This gives authorities flexibility on the design and placement of them. They can be fixed to a signpost, wall, lamp column, or building. The text is usually in the Transport typeface used on road signs. It is also common for street nameplates to use the serif font designed by David Kindersley.

Location identifiers
Numbered location markers of one type or another are used to identify specific locations along a road. Historically, milestones were used, but since the early 20th century they fell into disuse. However, for administrative and maintenance purposes, distance marker posts and driver location signs have been erected on motorways and certain dual carriageways. The numbers on distance marker posts are embedded into emergency roadside telephone numbers and are used by the emergency services to pinpoint incidents. The advent of the mobile phone meant that location information embedded into motorway emergency telephone systems was not being accessed by drivers and since 2007 driver location signs have been erected on many motorways. These contain important information about the location and carriageway direction, and the reference number should be quoted in full when contacting the emergency services.