Transport Secretary to axe pointless traffic signs that clutter the roads as it's revealed they've more than doubled in number in 20 years to 4.5million
- Patrick McLoughlin has called for an end to 'pointless' road signs
- There is now one sign on the road for every seven cars
- Mr McLoughlin said councils can cut down on constant alerts to drivers
- A recent revealed that many drivers have no idea what some signs mean
'Pointless': Many signs on the roads duplicate information or serve no obvious purpose
Fed up of road signs warning of obvious speed bumps and lane closures, or just informing you that the sign isn’t in use?
Transport
Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has called for an end to ‘pointless’ signs
– saying they confuse drivers and make the roads more dangerous.
Regulations
are set to be tightened up, as it is revealed the number of signs
cluttering Britain’s roads has more than doubled in 20 years to
4.5million.
This is around one sign for every seven cars on the roads.
Patrick
McLoughlin said councils could clamp down on the constant alerts to
motorists about loading restrictions, clearways, humps and speed limits,
which are distracting and state the obvious.
‘Over
the past two decades we’ve seen a huge rise in the number of
unnecessary signs blotting the landscapes of our towns and cities’, he
said.
‘Many
of the signs that go up are simply not needed and it has got to stop.
As well as spoiling otherwise beautiful areas of the country, pointless
signs just confuse drivers and make the roads less safe.’
A
survey last year by an insurance company found one in three drivers
admitted having a crash or a near miss because of baffling road signs.
The
Department for Transport admitted at the time that Britain has around
9,000 signs which are redundant or misleading and need to be revised.
It was also revealed by the survey that most people have no idea what many road signs mean.
The
number of clearaway signs, in yellow and black which mean no stopping
between certain times, has soared in the past 20 years, yet the survey
suggested 83pc of people do not understand them.
Nearly
7 in 10 people did not understand the red and blue circle which means
no waiting, and half of drivers could not decipher a sign pointing out
the correct lanes at a junction ahead.
Crackdown: Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has said unnecessary signs make the roads less safe
A
Transport department source said: ‘We’re pushing for councils to stop
pointlessly putting up loads of road signs where fewer would do the job
fine.
‘It
has become an issue as councils appear to have designated people whose
job it is to handle what signs go up, some of whom are probably
overzealous. It can end up looking hideous and all it does is confuse
drivers.’
The department issued new guidance to councils about cutting pointless road signs last year.
Now they are going further by consulting on implementing central regulations.
Drivers
will be asked whether they want to get rid of the requirement for speed
limit repeater signs, and also axe signs when there are already road
markings which provide adequate guidance.
Research
published today shows the number of signs for speed bumps has soared by
2,000 per cent in 20 years. There were under 5,000 in 1993, and nearly
100,000 today.
The
number of signs for clearways has risen from 3,444 to more than
110,000, priority restrictions from 1,572 to 23,000 and speed limit
signs doubled from around 225,000 to 442,000.
The
problem was symbolised two years ago by the village of Feock in
Cornwall, which took on the council when the number of road signs
reached a staggering 900 - one for every three residents.
It
was given the dubious honour of Britain’s most over-signed place, with
its quaint country lanes and stunning views blighted by hundreds of
duplicate direction sign posts and give way signs.
But after a battle with the council, it agreed to remove nearly 200 pointless signs.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609129/Transport-Secretary-axe-pointless-traffic-signs-clutter-roads-revealed-theyve-doubled-number-20-years-4-5million.html#ixzz2zVqT8gx2
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