Do all States need to conduct road sign evaluations?
Road sign evaluations are a specific activity required when a non-standard road sign is to be used. If a TACT road sign design is not consistent with the requirements in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), an experimental exception to the MUTCD must be obtained from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) before the sign is used. Depending on the design of the sign, obtaining the exception may require conducting a human factors evaluation of the sign (typically only done at a few universities around the country) and conducting an experimental evaluation of the sign itself for at least a year in the field. FMCSA is currently working with FHWA to streamline the process of approvals. If a road sign is used as part of the TACT media, it should definitely be assessed as part of any awareness data collection.
