Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Traffic Signs (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 and shall come into operation on 10th January 2000.

Amendments

2.—(1) The Traffic Signs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(3) shall be amended as provided by paragraphs (2) to (16).

(2) In regulation 8 (application of Article 50 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 to signs and disqualification for offences)—

(a)in paragraph (1) for the words “Order of 1995” there shall be substituted “Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995”; and

(b)in paragraph (2) for the words “Order of 1995” there shall be substituted “Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 are”.

(3) In regulation 10 (variations of dimensions) in paragraph (10) in item 2 of Table 2, opposite column (3), for the words “2%” there shall be substituted “20%”.

(4) In regulation 14 (signs shown in diagrams 601.1, 602, 778, 778.1, 611.1 and 784 and their significance), in paragraph (1) after item 3 in the Table there shall be inserted the following item—

(5) In regulation 33 (significance of light signals) for sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—

“(b)when a vehicle is being used for fire brigade, ambulance or police purposes and the observance of the prohibition conveyed by the red, red-with-amber or amber signal in accordance with sub-paragraph (a), (c) or (e) would be likely to hinder the use of that vehicle for the purpose for which it is being used, then those sub-paragraphs shall not apply to the vehicle, and the red, red-with-amber or amber signal shall each convey the prohibition that that vehicle shall not proceed beyond the stop line in a manner or at a time likely to endanger any person or cause the driver of any vehicle proceeding in accordance with the indications of light signals operating in association with the signals displaying the red, red-with-amber or amber signal to change its speed or course in order to avoid an accident;”.

(6) For regulation 40 (school crossing patrol signs and warning lights) there shall be substituted the following regulation—

“School crossing patrol signs and warning lights

40.—(1) A sign which is exhibited by a school crossing patrol for the purpose of stopping any vehicle in accordance with Article 60 of the 1997 Order (School crossings) shall be of the size, colour and type shown in diagram 605.2.

(2) A sign for conveying a warning to vehicular traffic, which is approaching a place in a road where children on their way to or from school or on their way from one part of a school to another cross or seek to cross that road (“a crossing place”), that a crossing place lies ahead and is being patrolled by a school crossing patrol or is otherwise in use by such children—

(a)shall be a light signal of the size, colour and type shown in diagram 4004, each lamp of which when operated shall show an intermittent amber light at a rate of flashing of not less than 60 nor more than 90 flashes per minute and in such a manner that one light is always shown when the other light is not shown; and

(b)may be erected on or near part of the road in advance of a crossing place in relation to oncoming traffic.”.

(7) In regulation 43 (flashing beacons)—

(a)in paragraph (2)(b) for the figure “800” there shall be substituted “450”; and

(b)in paragraph (2)(c) the words “and the period between flashes shall not exceed ¼ of a second” shall be deleted.

(8) In Schedule 1 (warning signs) for the caption to diagram 543.2 there shall be substituted the following caption—

• “Temporary traffic control ahead”.

(9) In Schedule 2 (regulatory signs)—

(a)for the caption to diagram 605.2 there shall be substituted the following caption—

“Vehicular traffic shall comply with the requirements of Article 60 of the 1997 Order when the sign is exhibited by a school crossing patrol”;

(b)in item 1 of the table below diagram 605.2 the words “, 40(2)” shall be deleted;

(c)in item 1 of the table below diagram 611.1 after the words “10(7),” there shall be inserted “14(1),”;

(d)in item 3 of the table below diagram 618.1 after the words “9. “access to off-street premises” ” there shall be inserted “10. “fire vehicles” ”; and

(e)in the caption to diagram 648 the words “adjacent to a clearway” shall be deleted.

(10) In Schedule 3 (signs for railway and tramway level crossings) in item 3 of the table below diagram 773 for the words “Schedule 16, items 3, 11. The traffic signal symbol may be omited or replaced by the words “AUTOMATIC BARRIERS”, “AUTOMATIC CONTROL (NO BARRIERS)” ” there shall be substituted “None”.

(11) In Schedule 4 (other informatory signs) in item 3 of the table below diagram 878 after the words “may be varied to” there shall be inserted “ “Bus Lane”,”.

(12) In Schedule 5 (signs for bus, tram and pedal cycle facilities)—

(a)in item 3 of the table below diagram 958 after the word “symbol” there shall be inserted “. The cycle symbol may be omitted. The diagram may be varied to show the bus lane on the right-hand side”;

(b)in item 3 of the table below diagram 959 after the words “bus symbol” there shall be inserted “. The cycle symbol may be omitted. The diagram may be varied to show the bus lane on the right-hand side”; and

(c)in the caption to diagram 976 for the word “Minimum” there shall be substituted “Maximum”.

(13) In Schedule 6 (road markings)—

(a)in item 1 of the table below diagrams 1003.3 and 1003.4 after the word “Regulations:” there shall be inserted “14(1),”;

(b)in item 4 of the table below diagram 1003.6 for the words “Schedule 17, item 10” there shall be substituted “None”;

(c)in diagrams 1025 and 1025.1 after the words “Edge of carriageway” there shall be inserted “or hard shoulder”;

(d)in the caption to diagram 1025 after the word “buses” there shall be inserted “on hard shoulder or”;

(e)in the caption to diagram 1048 after the words “contra-flow lane reserved for buses” there shall be inserted “or a traffic lane reserved for fire vehicles”;

(f)in item 3 of the table below diagram 1048 for the word “None” there shall be substituted “ “BUS” may be varied to “FIRE” ”;

(g)in the caption to diagram 1049 for the words “cycle lane.” there shall be substituted “cycle lane or a lane reserved for fire vehicles.”; and

(h)in item 3 of the table below diagram 1050 after the word “1036.1” there shall be inserted “. The diagram may be reversed in a mirror image”.

(14) In Schedule 7 in Part I (temporary and emergency directional signs) in item 3 of the table below diagram 2716 the words “ “To rejoin”,” in the first place where they occur and “when used on the main carriageway of a motorway, or “To rejoin” and the appropriate route number when used on a slip road of a motorway” shall be deleted.

(15) In Schedule 9 (light signals for pedestrians and animal crossings) in item 1 of the table below diagram 4004 for the words “40(3)” there shall be substituted “40(2)”.

(16) In Schedule 17 (illumination requirements) in item 10 opposite column (2) the word “1003.6,” shall be deleted.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Traffic Signs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997. The principal amendments are to—

(a)prescribe revised requirements conveyed by the mini-roundabout sign shown in diagram 611.1 so as to make it clear that a vehicle must go around the centre of a mini-roundabout unless the size of the vehicle makes it impracticable to do so (regulation 2(4));

(b)amend regulation 33 (significance of light signals) to exempt fire brigade, ambulance and police vehicles from the prohibition conveyed by the red-with-amber and amber signals in addition to the red signal (regulation 2(5));

(c)substitute regulation 40 (school crossing patrol signs and warning lights) (regulation 2(6));

(d)amend regulation 43 to reduce the minimum height above the carriageway for blue flashing beacons and to remove the specified time limit between flashes (regulation 2(7));

(e)add “fire vehicles” to the permitted variants for the plate (diagram 618.1) indicating a prohibition on vehicles (regulation 2(9)(d));

(f)provide that the plate (diagram 648) showing a continuous prohibition on stopping on the footway applies to all roads and not only clearways (regulation 2(9)(e));

(g)delete the permitted variants in respect of the sign shown in diagram 773 (STOP when lights show) (regulation 2(10));

(h)add “bus lane” to the permitted variants for the sign (diagram 878) indicating the presence of cameras used for enforcement (regulation 2(11));

(i)add permitted variants to the signs (diagrams 958 and 959) indicating with-flow bus lanes to allow the signs to indicate a bus lane on the right-hand side (regulation 2(12)(a) and (b));

(j)delete the requirement to illuminate the road marking shown in diagram 1003.6 (regulation 2(13)(b) and (16));

(k)provide that the road markings shown in diagrams 1025 and 1025.1 (bus stop marking) may be used on hard shoulders as well as carriageways (regulation 2(13)(c) and (d));

(l)provide that the road markings shown in diagrams 1048 and 1049 may be used to indicate a lane reserved for fire vehicles as well as a bus lane (regulation 2(13)(e), (f) and (g));

(m)provide that the road marking shown in diagram 1050 (direction of possible traffic movements at the end of a bus lane) may be reversed in a mirror image (regulation 2(13)(h)); and

(n)clarify the permitted variants in respect of the sign shown in diagram 2716 (sign indicating an alternative route) (regulation 2(14)).

These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission pursuant to Directive 98/34/EC of 22nd June 1998 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards and regulations and of rules on Information Society services (O.J. No. L204, 21.7.98, p. 37-48) as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of 20th July 1998 (O.J. No. L217. 5.8.98, p. 18-26). Copies of the Directives can be obtained from the Stationary Office Bookshop, 16 Arthur Street, Belfast, BT1 4GD.