Gene Hawkins has developed a presentation on the history of the MUTCD that summarizes the evolution of the MUTCD and traffic control devices from the early part of the 20^thcentury to modern times.   He has presented it at the following meetings:

• The AASHTO Subcommittee on Traffic Engineering annual meeting in June 2001.
• The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices semi-annual meeting in June 2001.
• American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) Annual Convention in February 2002

The presentation is available in two formats:

• A PDF version (MUTCD_History.pdf).  The size of this file is 14 MB.
• A compiled PowerPoint version (MUTCD_History_Web.ZIP).   To use the compiled version, right-click the link, choose to save the file, and download it to a folder or your desktop.  After downloading, to start the presentation, find the file on your machine.   You will need to use WinZip (http://www.winzip.com) to decompress the file.  Once decompressed, double-click the MUTCD_History_Web.exe file.  The size of this file is 49 MB.

A series of four articles by Gene Hawkins in ITE Journal (published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers) describe the evolution of the MUTCD from the early days of the 20^th century.

Evolution of the MUTCD: Part 1 - Early Standards for Traffic Control Devices, © Institute of Transportation Engineers, July 1992. Used by permission.

Evolution of the MUTCD: Part 2 - The Early Editions of the MUTCD, © Institute of Transportation Engineers, August 1992. Used by permission.

Evolution of the MUTCD: Part 3 - The MUTCD Since World War II, © Institute of Transportation Engineers, November 1992. Used by permission.

New Developments with the MUTCD, © Institute of Transportation Engineers, February 1994. Used by permission.

A brief description of the evolution of pavement marking color was prepared as part of NCHRP Project 4-28 assessing the feasibility of an all-white pavement marking system.