When placed on a Footway an absolute minimum of 1 meter must be maintained for pedestrian access. This ensures room for wheelchair and pram users. Where possible a preferred minimum width of   1.5 meters should be maintained. All signs must be a minimum of 300mm above ground level. This ensures visibility to drivers.

When placed near the edge of the vehicle carriageway a minimum of 450mm must be kept between the sign and edge of the road. This stops damage caused by wing mirrors (the average HGV mirror sticks out 300mm). Where 450mm distance cannot be maintained a cone is placed next to the sign to stop damage by passing vehicles (the base of a 750mm cone is around 450mm).

Where a 1-meter width cannot be maintained on the footway with the sign on it, the sign will be placed fully in the roadway and protected by a traffic cone.

Signs must be appropriately secured to ensure they stay in place and upright through the expected wind speeds. We classify wind speeds in three classes of maximum gusts (C:19mph, B:39mph, A:58mph). Manufacturers test their sign frames and publish data on the required weight for each wind class, and this also changes based on the surface area of the sign on the frame.

Effectively the bigger the sign the bigger the wind resistance and the more likely it is to fall the more weight is required to keep it upright.  Sandbags are used to weigh down signs on the road, the regulations say that a bag of a fine granular material should be used. Concrete or plastic blocks/weights should not be used unless sold by the manufacturer as designed to attach to the sign frame. 

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Sandbags must be placed low down on the frame, and most frames come with sandbag bars for this, the weight must be located at the bottom of the frame for safety. The sign, although required to stay upright in normal circumstances must also have the ability to collapse when struck by a vehicle without causing danger to the vehicle or occupants.

Having the sandbag high on the frame such as in the photo below    causes the risk of flying  sandbags in a collision which would pose a serious risk to the occupants of the vehicle or those in the surrounding area .

Cone Lamps are required based on this table from Safety at Streetworks. These have an amber 200mm lens. Red lenses are used primarily on high-speed road closures while Magenta lenses indicate a works traffic entrance.

White sign lamps are used on night-time works on unlit roads. They are used to highlight important signs such as speed limits, Wait HERE  boards and  Stop / Go or Stop WORKS lollipop signs.  High-intensity lamps are used to highlight important signs such as Workforce in Road, Wait HERE boards (amber lamps in the same way as white sign lamps) and, road closure points (Red)

Summary: Signs must be placed and weighted correctly to remain visible and safe in all conditions.

Why This Matters: Improper placement can cause visibility issues or be struck by vehicles. Incorrectly weighted signs are a safety hazard.

Key Regulations:

• Chapter 8: Clearance requirements, wind class ratings

• Red Book: Pedestrian footway access widths

Common Issues:

• Signs too close to road edge or blocking pavements

• Sandbags placed too high or incorrectly

What You Should Do:

• Maintain 450mm clearance from carriageway, 1m on footways

• Place sandbags low on frame; use correct weight per wind class

Event TM Recommends:

• Sign placement training

• Pre-event wind rating checklists