I would say it’s descriptive, and not very detailed, a renderer has lots of freedom how to use it, or not to use it at all. I have to say, I ignore the first colour (blue in this example) altogether. I know OsmAnd gives me a choice to display the routes with this osmc-specified colour.
I am not thinking about shields for motorways and trunk roads, just recreational routes using paths, cycleways and foot-accessible roads.