The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is a compendium of "best practices" as identified by consensus of involved traffic engineering professionals and transportation agencies; the MUTCD is very much an evolving document which reflects the demands made upon transportation agencies today in meeting the ever changing needs of the multitude of highway users. The Federal Highway Administration has adopted the MUTCD as a standard for application to every road open to public travel in the United States. In fact the MUTCD is one of only two standards that the FHWA has; the other is for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) standards. The MUTCD is the most widely distributed of any of the engineering "standards" in the free world. The Millennium Edition of the MUTCD is presented in the form of nearly 1,000 pages of requirements and application information. The official MUTCD is no longer a printed document but is in fact a web based document to better meet the needs of the modern "e-world" we all live in. Within the MUTCD, the traffic control and safety needs are addressed for a wide range of road users such as children walking to school, bicyclists on city streets and trails, and over the road trucks on our national network. The number of constituency groups with special needs to be specifically provided for in the MUTCD continues to evolve. The role of the MUTCD in satisfying these special needs is no longer simple; FHWA recognizes the complex nature of emerging issues and needs. FHWA recognizes that comprehensive analysis and careful consideration is required of any proposed change in order to advance the state of the art of traffic control toward achieving improved safety and operation of the nation's transportation system.
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