The lateral placement and height of signs affect both the operational and safety performance of signs. Signs that are too far from the edge of the road or too high may not be in the driver’s cone of vision. Furthermore, they may not be able to retroreflect sufficient light at night to be legible to drivers. Signs that are too close to the edge of the travel way may have a higher probability of being hit by vehicles leaving the travel way.

This chapter illustrates the principles for the distance that signs should be placed from the edge of the travel lane or shoulder and how high signs should be placed above the roadway or ground. Several different figures provide illustrations of different situations that can affect the lateral placement of signs or sign height.