Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Road Number shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Road Number offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Road Number at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Road Number? Wrong! If the Road Number is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Road Number then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Road Number? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Road Number and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Road Number wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Road Number then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Road Number site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Road Number, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Road Number, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
A
road number is often assigned to a stretch of public roadway. The number chosen is often dependent on the type of road, with numbers differentiating between interstates, motorways, arterial thoroughfares, two-lane roads, and so forth.
UK
In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, the road number has a letter followed by a number of up to 4 digits. For example, the main road from London to Edinburgh is called the A1, the "A" in Britain indicating a first class route; this is classified as being more important than "B" roads. The A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 also radiate out from London (in clockwise order) to points around the coast. All classified roads starting in the zone between the A1 and the A2 must begin with the figure 1 (A137, B1412), etc, etc. Scotland is similarly divided into zones by the A7, A8 and A9 which radiate out from Edinburgh.
This clock-face zonal system is used in many other European countries (for example,
Spain).
US
In other countries, such as the
United States, the situation is a bit more complicated. The numbers can be broken up into several major classifications, such as Interstate highways, or high-speed limited-access highways. For instance, the interstate between Boston, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington is called Interstate 90. The
United States Numbered Highways are often more local routes that can span multiple states and can include multiple roadway classifications. An example of this is the U.S. highway linking
Maine to
Florida called
U.S. Route 1. There are also state highways, or roadways under the control of the state government and are usually more minor than those of U.S. highways. These are often titled with the state name followed by the route number; Kentucky Route 67 indicates a Kentucky state road numbered 67.
Under the current numbering system for Interstate highways, odd numbers generally indicate a north-south route, and even numbers mean an east-west route. The numbering system creates a sort of grid; east-west Interstates increase in number as you go north, and north-south Interstates increase in number as you go east. For example, Interstate 4 is in central Florida, while
Interstate 94 runs in the northern part of the country. Also,
Interstate 5 travels along the Pacific Ocean while Interstate 95 runs up the East Coast. Conversely, north-south U.S. routes increase in number as you go west (U.S. Route 1 parallels Interstate 95 and
U.S. Route 97 runs in the Pacific Northwest) and the number of east-west U.S. routes increase as you go south (U.S. Route 2 travels along the
Canada border and U.S. Route 98 runs along the
Gulf of Mexico). States may or may not follow the odd and even rules and usually do not number their routes according to a grid. Some exceptions are Iowa, who uses a grid to number their county routes, and Ohio, who has "clusters" of similarly numbered routes.
The numbering system for
state highways varies widely from state to state. A state may choose to use letter prefixes for all, some, or none of its state roads. For example, the
Virginia Department of Transportation does not use letter prefixes for state primary or secondary routes, but does use an "F" prefix for frontage roads. Although the state's two-letter designation usually becomes a prefix for the route, some states, like Michigan, prefer to use a single-letter prefix (such as "M-28"). Indeed, a state may choose to give a route an entirely alphabetic designation, such as the lettered county routes in Wisconsin and the Missouri Supplemental Routes.
Some states (Southern and Midwestern states in particular) like to use the term "Highway" for state routes and their sections of U.S. highways, while others prefer the term "Route."
Some routes may carry a letter suffix, such as E/W (for East/West) or N/S (for North/South). Other lesser-known suffixes include A (for Alternate), B (for Business) and C (for City).
Complicating the issue further is the fact that some states have distinct numbering systems for primary and secondary routes or for state routes and
county roads. For example, in Virginia, the primary and secondary road systems have List of Virginia numbered highways that are, with rare exceptions, mutually exclusive.
Elsewhere
France still uses Route Nationale (France) numbers from an 1824 revision of 1811 numbers made under Napoleon.
Some countries, such as
Brazil, number their national highways by direction. (BR1xx = North/South highways, BR2xx = East/West, BR3xx = 'Diagonal' (ie NW/SE or NE/SW)).
See also
Further reading
- Explanation of British road numbers
- Explanation of U.S. highway numbers
A
road number is often assigned to a stretch of public roadway. The number chosen is often dependent on the type of road, with numbers differentiating between interstates, motorways, arterial thoroughfares, two-lane roads, and so forth.
UK
In some countries, such as the
United Kingdom, the road number has a letter followed by a number of up to 4 digits. For example, the main road from London to
Edinburgh is called the A1, the "A" in Britain indicating a first class route; this is classified as being more important than "B" roads. The A2, A3, A4, A5, A6 also radiate out from London (in clockwise order) to points around the coast. All classified roads starting in the zone between the A1 and the A2 must begin with the figure 1 (A137, B1412), etc, etc. Scotland is similarly divided into zones by the A7, A8 and A9 which radiate out from Edinburgh.
This clock-face zonal system is used in many other European countries (for example,
Spain).
US
In other countries, such as the United States, the situation is a bit more complicated. The numbers can be broken up into several major classifications, such as Interstate highways, or high-speed limited-access highways. For instance, the interstate between Boston, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington is called
Interstate 90. The
United States Numbered Highways are often more local routes that can span multiple states and can include multiple roadway classifications. An example of this is the U.S. highway linking Maine to
Florida called
U.S. Route 1. There are also state highways, or roadways under the control of the state government and are usually more minor than those of U.S. highways. These are often titled with the state name followed by the route number; Kentucky Route 67 indicates a
Kentucky state road numbered 67.
Under the current numbering system for Interstate highways, odd numbers generally indicate a north-south route, and even numbers mean an east-west route. The numbering system creates a sort of grid; east-west Interstates increase in number as you go north, and north-south Interstates increase in number as you go east. For example,
Interstate 4 is in central Florida, while
Interstate 94 runs in the northern part of the country. Also, Interstate 5 travels along the
Pacific Ocean while Interstate 95 runs up the East Coast. Conversely, north-south U.S. routes increase in number as you go west (U.S. Route 1 parallels Interstate 95 and
U.S. Route 97 runs in the Pacific Northwest) and the number of east-west U.S. routes increase as you go south (U.S. Route 2 travels along the Canada border and U.S. Route 98 runs along the Gulf of Mexico). States may or may not follow the odd and even rules and usually do not number their routes according to a grid. Some exceptions are Iowa, who uses a grid to number their county routes, and Ohio, who has "clusters" of similarly numbered routes.
The numbering system for state highways varies widely from state to state. A state may choose to use letter prefixes for all, some, or none of its state roads. For example, the
Virginia Department of Transportation does not use letter prefixes for state primary or secondary routes, but does use an "F" prefix for
frontage roads. Although the state's two-letter designation usually becomes a prefix for the route, some states, like
Michigan, prefer to use a single-letter prefix (such as "M-28"). Indeed, a state may choose to give a route an entirely alphabetic designation, such as the lettered county routes in Wisconsin and the
Missouri Supplemental Routes.
Some states (Southern and Midwestern states in particular) like to use the term "Highway" for state routes and their sections of U.S. highways, while others prefer the term "Route."
Some routes may carry a letter suffix, such as E/W (for East/West) or N/S (for North/South). Other lesser-known suffixes include A (for Alternate), B (for Business) and C (for City).
Complicating the issue further is the fact that some states have distinct numbering systems for primary and secondary routes or for state routes and
county roads. For example, in Virginia, the primary and secondary road systems have
List of Virginia numbered highways that are, with rare exceptions, mutually exclusive.
Elsewhere
France still uses
Route Nationale (France) numbers from an 1824 revision of 1811 numbers made under Napoleon.
Some countries, such as Brazil, number their national highways by direction. (BR1xx = North/South highways, BR2xx = East/West, BR3xx = 'Diagonal' (ie NW/SE or NE/SW)).
See also
Further reading
- Explanation of British road numbers
- Explanation of U.S. highway numbers
