Road Traffic Manual (NLDC)

The **Road Traffic Manual** is a document that serves as the Northern Lunden Development Community (NLDC)'s equivalent of the American Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The Road Traffic Manual specifies the standards by which traffic signs, road surface markings, and signals are designed, installed, and used.

## History

In the past, countries of the NLDC had different traffic laws depending on the country's former colonial empire (American, British, French or German). Piechlow and Malonland, the two countries that were formerly part of the British Empire, retained a modified version of British traffic laws, including the use of yellow lines to indicate parking restrictions (now replaced by broken red lines), while Terrebleuvif and Valman drove on the right side of the road because they retained a modified version of French traffic laws as they were former French colonies. Lunaland, which had been under American regime until 1937, borrowed some of the principles of the American traffic laws. Kampfland and Akkiestan had a modified version of German traffic laws owing to being former German colonies.

In order to unify the traffic laws, road marking and road signage within the NLDC, the NLDC started to work on the Road Traffic Manual, in 1958. It combined American, British, French and German traffic laws. Warning signs were chosen to follow European practice (and as well as raised pavement markers, with the only exception being blue or red, which is used to mark fire hydrants). Yellow lines mark school zones, public transport lanes and country borders. Red solid lines mark "no stopping" while dashed red lines mark "no parking". Kerbside yellow lines marked odd house numbers while kerbside blue lines marked even house numbers.

## Road signs

Road signs of the Road Traffic Manual generally follow German usage in terms of colour, shape and design, with some exceptions. Warning signs are in the shape of an equilateral triangle, and have the colour of white, with red border, prohibitory signs have a white circle with a red border, mandatory signs have a blue circle, and directional signage has a green background, with the exception for street names which are typically white, green or blue in background depending on the road's status. Yellow signs indicate temporary situations and is rectangular (warning) or circular (prohibition).

The official road signage typeface is Clearview. Clearview replaced Highway Gothic as the official road signage typeface in the 2005 version of the Road Traffic Manual.

### 1969-2005

Road signs installed until 2005 road signs have these design colours and shapes:

* **Warning signs:** Blue triangle, red border
* **Prohibitory signs:** Blue circle, red border
* **Mandatory signs:** Blue circle, white border
* **Temporary warning signs:** Yellow rectangle, black border (fitting into temporary casings)
* **Temporary prohibition signs:** Yellow circle, black border
* **Direction signs:** Green
* **Special indication signs:** Green

The official typeface between 1969 and 2005 for these signs was Highway Gothic.

## Raised pavement markings

The colours for raised pavement markings in the NLDC Road Traffic Manual generally follow European usage, with the exception of blue which is used to mark fire hydrants (as in North America) and even house numbers (in rural areas), while yellow is used to mark odd house numbers (in rural areas) in addition to being found next to the central reservation on motorways and dual carriageways.

## Route markers

The NLDC Road Traffic Manual also has rules for designing route markers, but one notable rule about the design of route markers as specified in the NLDC is that "the route marker cannot look like a maximum speed limit sign (black numerals on a red annulus), a minimum speed limit sign (white numerals on a blue circle), or house number markers (black numerals on a yellow square or white numerals on a blue square)".

## Abbreviations

### A

* **A**: Akkiestan (country)
* **AS**: Parking area (French, *aire de stationnement*)

### B

* **BRPVE**: Electric vehicle charging station (French, *borne de recharge pour véhicule électrique*)

### E

* **E**: Ennisila (country)
* **EVCS**: Electric vehicle charging station (English)

### L

* **LFE**: Electric vehicle charging station (German, *Ladestation für Elektrofahrzeuge*)

### S

* **SA**: Service area (English)
* **SS**: Service station (English and French, French: *Station-service*)

### T

* **TS**: Service station (German, *Tankstelle*)

### Z

* **ZS**: Service area (French language, *zone de service*)

## See also

* Road Traffic Manual (NLDC)/Gallery -- Road signs and markings specified by the NLDC.