Talk:Reassurance marker

2005 comments

I think this misses the point of these markers. They don't appear randomly along the route, but at a well-defined distance after each intersection. That is, the purpose is not to "reassure drivers that they are traveling on the correct road", but to inform them of which road they are on after an interchange, which is not always clear.

WP:BOLD. And they do appear in the middle of long intersection-less stretches. æle ✆ 00:06, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

Merger proposal

Any opposition to merging Highway shield? Mapsax (talk) 00:27, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Yes. Shields are used for more than reassurance marker purposes; that is only one application of them. —Scott5114↗ [EXACT CHANGE ONLY] 05:09, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

Good point.

There seems to be a lot of similarities between the pages; I cross-linked them as I saw appropriate, but I'm wondering if information from each is also appropriate on the other. Mapsax (talk) 19:47, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

They should be merged, regardless if they have slightly distinct uses, the two terms are used synonymously. The information from both can exist on one article. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ ^τ _¢ 18:37, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Disagree -- highway shields appear in many places, such as on overhead signs (approaching an intersection) that indicate the destination route of a particular lane, and on maps to represent numbered routes. By its nature, a reassurance marker contains one (or more) highway shields, but it serves a purpose that's much more specific than that of a general highway shield identifier. Everything counts (talk) 03:45, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Is there any source regarding this? I understand what you mean, but it's still possible to differentiate between the two in a single article. A highway shield is a marker for a highway, and often appears on a reassurance marker. - ʄɭoʏɗiaɲ ^τ _¢ 04:01, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

That's a good point. I think there's a case to be made for having separate articles, but not necessarily as they are now written. I am not strongly opposed to a merger. Everything counts (talk) 04:42, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes, there is a source for this: the American MUTCD specifically talks about reassurance markers, what they are used for, their placement, etc. —Scott5114↗ [EXACT CHANGE ONLY] 04:59, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

I don't see why the two articles cannot exist; although there seems to be information spread between the two. It would be great if more in-depth information was on the Highway Shield page a la Ontario, but if that's not going to happen then merging all the information into one page would help people sourcing info. 119.161.71.12 (talk) 13:14, 6 June 2010 (UTC)INFX

I'm somewhat opposed. If the two articles are merged, then a section on directional assemblies should be added. I suspect this would lead to an overlong article once all the different national variations are added.

It's been over five years. I'd like to make a motion to close this merger proposal. Will anyone second this? --Triskele Jim 00:12, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

There is a lot of redundancy, so we won't have an overly long article. I'm working on the merge. I'll include discussion on the purposes of highway shields. Wbm1058 (talk) 19:02, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

On second thought you have a point. If we added highway shields for just a fraction of the ~ 200 countries of the world, the article could get quite long. Just need to keep a lookout for mission creep in this article. It should be limited to just Reassurance, and not a general discussion of shields. Wbm1058 (talk) 21:47, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

Article name?

Not to stir the pot, but it seems to me that the article should be named Confirming marker, since that's the predominant use. Reassurance shield assemblies only show up periodically, by design, and usually not at all in urban areas, since intersections are spaced so closely, and thus these would be confirming assemblies, per the MUTCD. Mapsax (talk) 19:52, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

You're probably right about "reassurance marker"; it does seem to be used by official agencies for trail blazes, but not for highway markers. "Confirming marker" isn't used either though; it's "confirming assembly" in the MUTCD. --NE2 07:29, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

US 221 picture

A typical U.S. reassurance marker, this one for U.S. Highway 221 southbound

I've located a picture of reassurance markers on Ontario's Highway 401, which I think looks better than the existing picture of the US 221 marker uploaded by Alerante (not as blurry and vertically imposing). I'm moving the US 221 picture here just so it doesn't get orphaned. - Hinto (talk) 22:17, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

I think this picture can safely be orphaned... it's not too difficult to take better pictures of reassurance / confirming markers. —Rob (talk) 14:09, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Australia and New Zealand

I take exception to New Zealand and Australia as one topic. Regardless of the fact they are two completely different countries, the route numbering systems in Australia are vastly different in scope and scale, making the system incomparable to N.Z. with the exception that Australia State and/or Metropolitain Routes are the same shape, but are nonetheless a different colour (Blue compared to Red). As this is the case, lumping Hong Kong (Yellow Bullet) in with New Zealand would certainly appear more accurate. 119.161.71.12 (talk) 12:36, 6 June 2010 (UTC)INFX

Highway route markers.

I don't see how these are anything but a variant of Highway route markers, which are sometimes used to let you know what's coming up, sometimes used to let you know which way to turn, and sometimes used to confirm what road you're on - i.e., as a reassurance marker. Can somebody explain to me why this article shouldn't be condensed and turned into one section of Highway route markers? - DavidWBrooks (talk) 22:28, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

I have requested a move at Talk:Highway route markers#Requested move. That article is really about highway location markers or modern-day milestones. Milestones/location markers are not used to let you know what's coming up or used to let you know which way to turn. While they may confirm what road you're on, even that is usage is secondary to reassurance markers, which are generally larger and easier to see. Location markers may be used by highway engineering and maintenance workers, or to inform emergency personnel where you are located after a breakdown or an accident. Reassurance markers confirm that you are on a certain numbered road, but not exactly where on that road you are located. I would be more open to a merge of reassurance marker to highway shield - but that article could get large if many more countries are added in the "by country" section. The Netherlands' Hectometer post is kind of a hybrid in that it combines 3 functions—reassurance marker, location marker and speed limit—into a single sign. It is much larger than the typical location marker. Wbm1058 (talk) 00:25, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

I was stumped by the hatnote, because I couldn't tell much difference between Highway (whatever you call them) markers and reassurance markers. They and the other examples you list above are just, it seems to me, subcategories of "signs with the name/number of the road you're on, designed to provide information as you pass them".

highway shield seems to cover that meaning pretty well, although it's an unusual term that people (in the US, anyway) aren't likely to search for, so it's not a very good article to function as a kind of pseudo-disambiguation page.

Perhaps all these articles could start with a sentence along the lines of:

[[Reassurance market]] is a type of [[highway shield]], designed to confirm to travelers the identity of the route they are traveling, but which doesn't necessarily provide other information, such as distances or upcoming intersections.

In other words, it would provide an immediate pointer to the overarching category (highway shield) in case this isn't exactly what they're looking for, and would immediately what characterizes this particular type of sign by listing the characteristics it has and the characteristics it doesn't have. - DavidWBrooks (talk) 12:39, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

A reassurance marker is not a type of highway shield, it is a use of a highway shield. A reassurance marker assembly is a highway shield with a cardinal direction sign, usually found after major intersections, to confirm to the road user that they are traveling on the route and in the direction they wanted. --Triskele Jim 13:13, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

OK, if "highway shield" only refers to the structure, not the function, then what is the overarching term for "signs with the name/number of the road you're on, designed to provide information as you pass them"? "Road sign"? - DavidWBrooks (talk) 15:08, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Traffic sign. Road sign is a synonym, as it redirects to traffic sign. the first two pictures on that article are reassurance markers that include distances to upcoming places. Some signs combine the reassurance function with "distances to upcoming places" function, while other roads typically have separate sign assemblies for the "reassurance" and "distance to" functions. Wbm1058 (talk) 12:43, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

Traffic sign is a general term covering everything from stop signs to street names. US manuals use the term "route marker assembly" for a highway shield with supplemental direction and arrow panels. The large green signs with highway shields and directional information are a form of guide sign. I would call the first two signs in the traffic sign article "distance signs," not reassurance markers.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Triskele Jim (talk • contribs) 17:07, 12 April 2013

I see. Guide sign also redirects to traffic sign, and distance sign is a red link. Wbm1058 (talk) 19:06, 12 April 2013 (UTC)

So then: [[Reassurance market]] is a type of [[traffic sign]], designed to confirm to travelers the identity of the route they are traveling, but which doesn't necessarily provide other information, such as distances or upcoming intersections. How's that for an introductory sentence?- DavidWBrooks (talk) 12:14, 13 April 2013 (UTC)