John Kilopascal in USMA 20200, and others have discussed the idiosyncasy of US highway signs. It reminds me of Germany in 1945-6. American signs were in words and black and white. British signs were smaller, in colors and symbols. The Russians had frequent long-winded propaganda billboards addressed to the German population.
>I don't understand why Americans have to have a different set of signs then >the rest of the world? Why do American signs have to have text added to >already self-explanatory pictograms? Doesn't that add more cost to produce >these types of signs then the international types; with no text and no more >metal then that required to display the pictogram? With limited highway >funds for new and repair construction, why must we waste money needlessly? > >Aren't signs with extra text added an accident danger? The extra few >seconds it takes to read the text may be the seconds needed to avoid an >accident. Joseph B.Reid 17 Glebe Road West Toronto M5P 1C8 Tel. 416 486-6071
