Too many road signs

[Simon B]

Betwen Stockbridge and Winchester - I've never encountered them elsewhere - there is a mile or two of road with luminous cats' eyes. If you flick your headlights off for a second or two they continue to glow into the distance. Rather beguiling.

These active cats' eyes have been installed, albeit on a relatively small mileage of roads, in many parts of the country. In most cases they have been deployed on stretches of rural road with a particularly bad accident history.

Re red tarmac - apart from the merits or otherwise of the visual aspect, in many cases this will also be, in simple terms, a surface with higher friction to increase the limit of traction i.e. harder braking is achievable prior to understeering or linear skids.

[johnb]

Talking of red tarmac reminds me that some years ago Bristol pursued a policy, in at least one area, of digging up a section of tarmac across the entrances to residential roads (from slightly busier semi-residential roads) and replacing the tarmac with red bricks. I never found out what on earth this was supposed to achieve.

Another curious strategy has been to extend the pavements into the road just at the points where there is an entrance to a side road, so that parked cars are 'embraced' by these pavement 'arms'. This must have cost many, many hundreds of thousands and seems to be utterly pointless.

[Don Petter]

For example, they must have cleaned up with the new fashion of red tarmac to warn of, for example, a change of speed limit on both sides of the road, approaches to stop signs and the like. I've given these some thought when approaching one in the car, and I don't believe it makes a scrap of difference to my driving.

All markings on both sides of the road surface at a hazard or limit seems completely wrong and even counter-productive, as well as wasting resources.

Instead of such markings being associated, particularly subconsciously, with the arrival at a hazard and the subseqent need to take care and probably reduce speed they, for fifty percent of the time, are associated with a clearer road and the ability to speed up, which effectively cancels out the real purpose. Counties seem to differ as to whether they do this or not. I wonder how the ones which do can seek to justify it.

[Nick Armstrong]

We are not alone....

[JFLL]

All markings on both sides of the road surface at a hazard or limit seems completely wrong and even counter-productive, as well as wasting resources.

Instead of such markings being associated, particularly subconsciously, with the arrival at a hazard and the subseqent need to take care and probably reduce speed they, for fifty percent of the time, are associated with a clearer road and the ability to speed up, which effectively cancels out the real purpose. Counties seem to differ as to whether they do this or not. I wonder how the ones which do can seek to justify it.

Yes, anti-speeding measures can backfire. In a rural part of the country I know well, they have those mobile speed indicators (GREEN 25 - 28 - 30 - RED 32 - 35 …) that can easily be moved around from place to place and are usually placed at the entrance to villages. They had to remove them from one village because the local lads evidently had a competition to see who could clock up the highest speed. I must admit I had to laugh at the subversive spirit of this, while the more sober side of me tut-tutted.

[Pabmusic]

I always smile at "Beware Elderly Pickpockets":

[amateur51]

I always smile at "Beware Elderly Pickpockets":

[Anna]

[Serial_Apologist]

We are not alone....

Reminds me of those signs that used to be all over France, (maybe still), reading "Toutes directions"!

[Serial_Apologist]

I can't say I agree with the new policy of removing traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, or halt directions at intersections. I think it may work for a while, but once the novelty of having to take special care wears off, people will revert to survival of the sh*ttest tactics. Traffic controls can't have been introduced for no reason.

[Vile Consort]

Something that annoys me is when, on a minor road, there are very minor roadworks that scarcely encroach upon the carriageway at all and the warning signs constitute far more of a hazard than the roadworks themselves.

I have seen cases where drivers have to cross to the wrong side of the road on a blind bend in order to get past the signs, and others where on coming round a bend, one's own side of the road is found to be almost totally obstructed by a sign.

[Resurrection Man]

Betwen Stockbridge and Winchester - I've never encountered them elsewhere - there is a mile or two of road with luminous cats' eyes. If you flick your headlights off for a second or two they continue to glow into the distance. Rather beguiling.

They used to have them on the A4103. I got really confused...thought it was reflection from the moon, my lights, car behind..so turned all my lights off...and they were still lit. Some soprt of LED thingies I was told

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I can't say I agree with the new policy of removing traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, or halt directions at intersections.

in Scarborough, it seems to be the council's policy to install traffic lights at every possible road intersection, even on roundabouts that have only moderate use. It's quite nonsensical.

[johnb]

I can't say I agree with the new policy of removing traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, or halt directions at intersections....

I wonder how many drivers actually comply with a Halt sign, or even notice them. My impression is that most drivers judge whether to come to a complete standstill or not depending on whether there is any on-coming traffic.

Mind you, I could be biased about Halt signs so, in the spirit of the times, I have a confession to make. In the early 1960's, when I was a teenager, we lived on a very quiet road on the outskirts of Manchester. This road fed onto another very quiet road, with a Halt sign at the junction. Those days I rode a push bike everywhere and used to slow down at that junction, look to see whether there was any traffic and then continue without actually coming to a standstill if the roads were empty (and there was rarely any traffic there).

On one occasion I did this and although I saw a policeman on a bike about 400 yards away I carried on as normal (I used to pedal quite fast so thought nothing of it). Some minutes later a red faced, puffing policeman over took me and told me to stop. He booked me for not stopping at the junction!

About six months later there was a hearing at Strangeways Magistrate's Court (adjacent to the prison) which I attended and was fined 10 bob. (On reflection, it might have been 15 bob. The equivalent of 75p.)

[ahinton]

Reminds me of those signs that used to be all over France, (maybe still), reading "Toutes directions"!

Oh, yes, they're still there all right - many tens of thousands of them, I imagine!