# Annotated Republic of China Regulations/Regulations for Road Traffic Signs, Markings, and Signals/1989

| ←1981 | Regulations for Road Traffic Signs, Markings, and Signals Republic of China (Taiwan) Regulation 1989 |

# Content

From translations by wiki users partially based on:
* Road Traffic Safety Portal Site (generally up to date)
* Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau (older, some Chinglish, not always correct)

## Chapter 1 General Provisions
### Article 2

    The purpose to place signs, markings, and signals is to supply vehicular drivers and pedestrians the warning, regulatory, and guiding information on the road condition, to facilitate travel and to promote traffic safety.

### Article 3

    The definitions of signs, markings, and signals are as follows:
* Signs: Traffic control devices, with stipulated symbols, graphics or simple texts marked on plates with definite shapes, affixed on immovable or movable supporting objects, placed at proper locations, to announce or control the road condition ahead, to make vehicular drivers and pedestrians to pay attention and obey.
* Markings: Traffic control devices, with stipulated lines, graphics, marked words or other channeling devices, marked on the road surface or other facilities, to control the movement and stoppage of vehicular drivers and pedestrians on the roads.
* Signals: Traffic control devices, with stipulated timed alternate light messages, placed at intersections or other special locations, to assign the rights of passage on the roads to vehicular drivers and pedestrians, to control their movement, stoppage, and turns.

### Article 5

    The competent authorities referred to in these Regulations mean the competent authority of highway administration, the urban road authorities, and the police departments.

### Article 6

    Before roads are opened for passage, needed signs, markings, and signals shall be properly installed.
    When there are changes to road and traffic conditions, needed signs, markings, and signals shall be additionally installed, and unneeded signs, markings, and signals shall be removed at the same time.

### Article 7

    Signs, markings, and signals shall be often maintained to remain clear, complete, and validly effective.
    Signs, markings, and signals as damaged shall be repaired by the competent authorities in time　and the responsible person shall be required　to compensate the cost to repair.

### Article 8

    Objects obscuring signs, markings, and signals and advertising items affecting the effectiveness of signs, markings, and signals, etc., shall all be corrected or cracked down by the competent authorities or the competent authorities of these respective objects.

### Article 9 (later amended)
## Chapter 2 Signs
### Section 1 General Principles
#### Article 10

    The categories and their purposes of signs are as follows:
* Warning signs:
* Regulatory signs:
* Guide signs:
* Auxiliary signs

#### Article 14

    Signs may attach supplementary plates as needed, to make vehicular drivers and pedestrians easily understand the meanings of graphics in signs.

#### Article 17

    Overhead signs are placed above vehicular lanes using overpasses or cantilever arms and may be installed based on the following situations:
* Vertical signs cannot be installed due to space constraint.
* Sight distance is limited.
* The same direction has at least three fast and slow vehicular lanes.
* Places where vehicular uses are complex.
* Places where signs are dense.
* Road segments with dense interchanges.
* Exit ramps has multiple lanes.
* Traffic includes higher ratio of large vehicles.
* Exit ramps are on the left side.

#### Article 21

    The valid extents, limits, obligatory times, added supplemental plates, or added English explanations of signs, are to be decided by competent authorities based on realistic situations unless already stipulated by These Regulations.

### Section 2 Warning Signs
#### Article 22

    Warning signs shall be placed in any of the following conditions:
* Road segments with sharp curves.
* Road segments with steep slopes.
* Road junctions.
* Road work zones.
* Near railway level crossings.
* Road segments with sudden danger at the instant.
* Road segments with other special conditions.

#### Article 23

    The designs of warning signs follows the following rules:
* Shape: Right triangle.
* Colors: White background, red border, and black graphics, but the graphic of Signal Ahead sign has red, yellow, green and black colors.
* Sizes
    Standard style: border length of 90 cm and border width of 7 cm.
    Enlarged style: border length of 120 cm and border width of 9 cm.
    Reduced style: border length of 60 cm and border width of 5 cm.
    Extra large style: based on realistic situation.

#### Article 25

    A Twisted Road sign is to make vehicular drivers slow down and installed on routes with reverse curves or continuous turns ...... "Warn 3" is used for the first bend to the right. "Warn 4" is used for the first bend to the left.
    Warn 3 Warn 4 (unit: centimeters)
    This sign is installed along a route with continuously sharp turns. One sign shall be installed at least every two kilometers. Supplemental plate shall be installed under the sign to explain the length, to make vehicular drivers anticipate remaining distance of continuously sharp turns. The sample image of standard supplemental plate is as follows:
    (unit: centimeters)

#### Article 26

    A Steep Slope sign is to make vehicular drivers drive carefully. It is installed on road segments with the slope of 7% or more. "Warn 5" is used for steep ascent. "Warn 6" is used for steep descent.
    Warn 5 (unit: centimeters) Warn 6
    A supplemental plate shall be installed under the sign to explain the slope as "ascent" or "descent", its percentage and length. The sample image of standard supplemental plate is as follows:
    (unit: centimeters)

#### Article 27

    A Narrow Road sign "Warn 07" is used to make vehicular drivers be aware of situations of narrow road surface, and slow down to avoid and yield to any oncoming vehicles. It is installed before the beginning point of road segment narrowing the surface width to 6 m or less on two-way road.
    Warn 7 (unit: centimeters)
    Installing this sign at long segment of narrow road shall add a supplemental plate under it to describe the length of the narrow road. The graphic of standard supplemental plate is as follows:
    (unit: centimeters)

#### Article 29

    A Narrow Bridge sign "Warn 10" is used to warn vehicular drivers not to meet oncoming vehicles on the bridge. It is placed on a bridge with the net width of less than 6 m.
    Warn 10 (unit: centimeters)
    A narrow bridge with the length of at least 300 m should better place signals to control the traffic. A narrow bridge already placing signals may be exempt from placing this sign.

#### Article 34

    A Roundabout sign "Warn 24" is used to make vehicular drivers pay attention to slow down to yield the right-of-way to vehicles in a roundabout. It is placed near a roundabout as needed.
    Warn 24 (unit: centimeters)

#### Article 35

    A Railroad Crossing With Gate sign "Warn 25" is used to warn vehicular drivers to attentively slow down or stop in time. It is placed near a location where vehicular drivers cannot directly notice a railroad crossing with gates.
    Warn 25

#### Article 55

    A Danger sign "Warn 50" is used to make vehicular drivers to drive cautiously. It is placed near a location of a dangerous segment of a road.
    Warn 50
    A supplemental plate shall be installed under the sign to explain the reason of the danger.

#### Article 55-1 (later added)
### Section 3 Regulatory signs
#### Article 67

    Pedestrians Only "Sign R22" is used to notify that the segment of the road exclusively provide pedestrians' passage, with no entry of any vehicles. It is installed at clear location of the starting point of the road segment. Any prescribed passage time shall be described in supplemental plate.
    R22

#### Article 86
### Section 4 Guide Signs
#### Article 132 (later amended)
### Section 5 Auxiliary Signs
#### Article 145 (later amended)
## Chapter 3 Markings
### Section 1 General Principles
#### Article 153

    Unless otherwise prescribed, markings are installed in reflective materials as needed.

### Section 4 Guide Markings
#### Article 180 (later amended)
#### Article 192
## Chapter 4 Signals
### Section 3 Definitions of All Displayed Light Signals
#### Article 206
#### Article 209

    When double red lights of railway level crossing signals start flashing alternately, pedestrians and vehicles are meant to be prohibited from entering the level crossing, and vehicles shall stop before the stop line. If already in the level crossing, they shall quickly leave.

#### Article 210

    Double flashing yellow lights at pedestrian crossing means that there is a zebra pedestrian crossing ahead. Vehicles should slow down the speed when approaching, and, when there are pedestrians crossing, shall stop before the stop line to yield to pedestrians to pass first.

#### Article 211
### Section 7 Necessary Conditions to Place Signals
#### Article 226 (later amended)
#### Article 227

    Road traffic meeting one of the following conditions may install signals with just both red and green colors, or regular red, yellow and green tri-color vehicular movement control signals:
* Roads, bridges, tunnels or ramps, etc. must control traffic in a direction due to construction or other reasons.
* The traffic must be controlled to prevent drivers from being harmed with continuous vehicular entry when traffic accidents happen in tunnels.

#### Article 229 (later amended)
### Section 8 Basic Principles of Timing Designs
#### Article 232

    The lights of vehicular signal upon activation and reactivation after the power has shut off shall first display all reds for three seconds, then take turns to operate.

#### Article 233 (later amended)
## Chapter 5 Supplementary Provisions
### Article 234

    Designs of shapes, colors, sizes, graphics, words, reflection, illumination and installed locations, etc of signs, markings, and signals, shall all follow the provisions of these Regulations. If additions, reductions or changes because of special needs are needed, they shall be first reported to the Ministry of Transportation and Communication and the Ministry of Interiors for approval before the announcement of the implementation.