2Authority for markings#
2.1General authority#
Under TORUM, the Director-General of Transport and Main Roads is empowered to install on, or remove from, a road any official traffic sign. A local government may install on, or remove from, a road in its area any official traffic sign, provided the Director-General’s written agreement is obtained on a declared road.
2.2Relationship to the MUTCD#
An official traffic sign includes any marking or device where ‘the approved design method, standard or procedure of which’ is either contained in the MUTCD or approved by the Director-General. The MUTCD, therefore, has legal status within the meaning of the TORUM Act. It is therefore incumbent on this Guide to Pavement Markings to conform to the MUTCD.
Extracts from the MUTCD are provided in a text box. References to the figures and tables in the extract are available in the extract's source document. Further, for clarity reasons, a number of the figures in this guide depict pavement markings, traffic signs and signal treatments. Guidelines and supplementary notes for the installation of the traffic signs have, in most cases, been excluded. Consequently, users of this guide should not rely on the diagrams for guidance on traffic sign arrangements, but should refer directly to the relevant provisions in the MUTCD.
A number of general terms in traffic regulations under the TORUM Act (that is, Queensland Road Rules), are different from those used in MUTCD for the same purpose. For consistency, the terms used in MUTCD have been adopted for use in this guide.
2.3Practical responsibility#
The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads is responsible for the installation, quality control, maintenance and removal of all markings on declared roads, including:
- an adjoining service road if the service road is a declared road
- a declared road within a parking area, except for markings associated with parking.
This responsibility is vested in the relevant Regional Director or as appropriate, irrespective of who carries out the work.
Markings on all other public roads are the responsibility of local governments or road owners.
All markings, whether on declared roads or not, must conform with the MUTCD, except where approval has been granted for an alternative treatment.
When installing or changing pavement markings, a record of the installation or change should be made as pavement markings are regulatory official traffic signs. Form M994 is available for this purpose. Guidelines on its use are given in the MUTCD (Part 1, Appendix B).
2.4Non-standard treatments#
Where a pavement marking (or any other traffic control device) is applied, which is not standard in the context of the MUTCD or this guide, approval is required from the Principal Engineer (Traffic Engineering Practice) prior to its installation on a road. Non-standard signs which have not been approved as official traffic signs have no legal authority, cannot be enforced, may confuse motorists and may place the installing authority at risk in the event of litigation.