About Us

ABOUT TRAFSOFT

Trafsoft was formed in 2002 to specifically target the software needs of the traffic engineer. The company was conceptualised by Peter Farrell, having 23 years of traffic engineering experience Peter noticed the gaps in the market and after many hours of planning, developed Road Sign Design Unlimited, our first product. Road Sign Design Unlimited offers the user a simple and comprehensive platform to design all types of road signs as set out in the SADC RTSM Manuals.

BACKGROUND

The National Road Traffic Act, 1996 and Regulations, legalise the Southern Africa Development Community - Road Traffic Signs Manual (SADC-RTSM), published in November 2000. All road signs displayed on public roads have to comply with the National Road Traffic Act and thus also to the guidelines in the SADC-RTSM.

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Guidance Signs

The second group of road signs assist the road user to navigate along the public road systems to reach his or her destination. Guidance signs provide en route navigational information to guide drivers during trips. These signs should comply with the requirements for the design, placement, operation, maintenance and uniformity, as set out in the SADC-RTSM.

Tourism signs may supplement the primary guidance signing system, where appropriate. Tourism signs represent one class of guidance signs, and are supplementary to direction signs. Tourism signs should be provided according to the SADC-RTSM, subject to the tourist facility complying with the warrants given in the SADC-RTSM. Symbols approved by the COLTO Road Traffic Signs Technical Committee (RTSTC) may be used.

Warning & Regulatory Signs

Road signs play an important role in transportation; Warning signs warn the road user of dangers on and next to the road ahead. These warning signs are mostly triangular and will be located before the road hazard.

Regulatory signs indicate to what actions are expected from the road user at a specific point or section of road. Regulatory signs are round or square.

Warning and Regulatory signs are standard designs as prescribed in the National Traffic Act and SADC-RTSM. In some instances the warning and regulatory signs may be displayed with supplementary plates to enhance the message displayed, for example, a sharp curve warning sign with a recommended speed indicated on the supplementary plate.

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Road Sign Design

Road signs need to be legible and are designed to specific specifications as set out in SADC-RTSM. Specific letter heights, sizes and spacing are taken into account for road sign design. Classes of material used for manufacture are also important for visibility in nighttime conditions.

Detail design of guidance signs show the sign layout, with route numbers, destinations, distances and symbols, as well as letter sizes and sign dimensions. The detail design of road signs using the ROAD SIGNS DESIGN UNLIMITED SOFTWARE will ensure the following policy guidelines:

Conformity:- To ensure that sign face design in general complies with nation-wide principles, and especially with that of the area of jurisdiction of the road authority.

Accuracy:- To eliminate confusion by ensuring that sign face layout relates to, amongst others, the latest destination analysis situations.

Uniformity:- To ensure that the system of layout, colour and display enhance the road user's ability to reduce reading times.

Cost-effectiveness:- To ensure that information needed by the road user is presented as concisely as possible, without negatively influencing the transfer thereof to the road user, a minimum level of signing must be achieved.

Why a Road Signs Design Package

The SADC-RTSM Road Traffic Signs Manual gives clear guidelines for the design of road signs, however, in order to design a road sign one has to carefully consider the measurements, letter size, word length, letters and word spacing, borders, etc. This process is time consuming and requires a highly skilled person to perform the design.

The Road Signs Design Package automates the design process and takes all the requirements of SADC-RTSM into consideration. Thus the result a Road Traffic Act compliant sign, design in a cost effective time and no design errors in the manufactured product.

Specifications of The Road Signs Design Package

Works on all operating systems

All types of signs can be designed, Ground Mounted Signs, Tourism Signs, Overhead signs (upward and downward pointing arrows), Toll Roads Signage, Map type signs, etc.

User Friendly: Very easy to operate, the user should have the knowledge of road signing principles and applications. The help menu guides one in the steps for designing a road sign.

Templates: A set of standard templates is provided whereby the user can just edit the destinations. The user can also draw up their own templates for that specific local authority or province.

All 14 SADC countries can use the software for their specific road sign design needs.