What are vehicle road signs?
The airfield's signs for drivers. They look like the road signs everyone knows, and they tell a vehicle where to stop before it reaches a runway or a taxiway.
Airside roads carry fuel trucks, rescue vehicles, maintenance crews and escorts, and where those roads meet an aircraft surface the driver needs a clear instruction. Vehicle road signs do that job in the language drivers already read, so a vehicle stops where it should without having to interpret an aircraft sign.
1Road signs, not pilot signs
Most are ordinary road signs such as STOP and yield, laid out under road traffic rules. In ICAO terms they are road-holding position signs, provided in line with local road traffic regulations. In the US, FAA guidance refers to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
2Where a road meets a runway
The driver sees a STOP sign at the holding position. In FAA practice, where a service road enters or crosses a runway at an airport with more than one runway, a separate runway holding position sign is added, installed apart from the STOP sign: white on red, naming the runway ahead (ICAO calls the same red-and-white sign a runway designation sign; see Entry 7). Its numbers are arranged to show the direction of each runway end as the driver sees it, so a driver facing runway 09/27 reads 09-27. The two signs do different jobs: one says stop, the other says which runway the road leads onto.
3Where a road meets a taxiway
The STOP sign is used with wording that tells the driver to contact air traffic control before going on, since a taxiway may carry an aircraft at any time. The driver proceeds only when permitted.
| Element | Rule |
|---|---|
| Audience | Drivers of vehicles on airside service roads |
| Style | Familiar road signs, such as STOP and yield, following road traffic conventions |
| At a runway | A STOP sign; in FAA practice at multi-runway airports, also a separate runway holding position sign (white on red) naming the runway, numbers arranged to match the runway ends as the driver sees them |
| At a taxiway | A STOP sign (FAA guidance also allows a yield sign at taxiways), with wording telling the driver to contact air traffic control |
| Position | At the stop line / holding position, beside the road, no closer to the runway than the holding position |
| Meaning | Stop. Enter the runway or taxiway only as air traffic control or local rules permit |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1What are vehicle road signs on an airfield?
Signs for drivers on airside roads, such as service roads that cross or enter a runway or taxiway. They look like ordinary road signs, for example STOP and yield, and follow road traffic conventions.
Q2How do they differ from taxiway and runway signs?
Taxiway and runway signs are written mainly for pilots, although drivers on the movement area read them too. Vehicle road signs are for drivers on service roads, using familiar road symbols and road rules, with, in US practice, a runway holding position sign added where a service road meets a runway at an airport with more than one runway.
Q3What does a driver do at a STOP sign before a runway?
Stop at the holding position and do not enter the movement area without the clearance required by air traffic control or local rules. Where one is installed, the runway holding position sign (called a runway designation sign in ICAO terms) names the runway ahead.
Q4Which standard applies?
ICAO Annex 14 describes road-holding position signs, to be provided in line with local road traffic regulations. In the US, FAA AC 150/5340-18 covers vehicle roadway signs and refers to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
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