The rural environment is being ruined by roadside clutter and intrusive traffic calming, and confusing signs may be putting motorists’ lives at risk, according to the director of the RAC Foundation speaking at the Institution of Highway Incorporated Engineers conference, Achieving Excellence in Signing at Loughborough University today.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, will announce at the conference that the RAC Foundation has joined with countryside campaigners CPRE to form a new alliance against the cluttering of the English countryside.

King will tell delegates that signs that are clear, concise, relevant, reliable and timely can improve safety and reduce the number of drivers who get lost each day. Conversely a clutter of contradictory signs, as well as detracting from the beauty of the countryside, lead to confusion that can result in collisions.

Highlighting a case study of a 7-mile section of the B3006 in Hampshire, most of which passes through the designated South Downs National Park, which a CPRE survey found to have 45 signs per mile,{1} King will call on local authorities to:

• carry out “clutter audits” on roads in their counties, as in Hampshire{2};
• restore countryside character through the use of fingerposts and other
• locally distinctive signage where possible, as in the Surrey Hills; and
• keep a record of the number of signs they have managed to remove.

King will also attack some of the “appalling and dangerous” build-out or chicane traffic calming schemes in villages{3} which are both a visual eyesore and highly questionable in terms of road safety. He will propose to the transport planners a radical solution of using traditional cattle grids as an effective way of slowing down traffic without ruining the visual environment of small villages.

Research reveals that since the modern system of signage was introduced in 1968 the number of signs in the Highway Code has soared by 44 per cent.  Examples of confusing signs have included a bilingual traffic sign in Wales, which gave cyclists the message to “dismount” in English but that “Your bladder disease has returned” in Welsh.

Shaun Spiers, CPRE’s Chief Executive, said: ‘People simply aren’t prepared to put up with our countryside being blighted for no good reason. We want local authorities to think again about putting up unnecessary road signs, and keep our countryside from becoming a nightmare of garish signs and billboards.’

Edmund King, executive director, said: “We are ruining many of our pretty rural areas by putting in hideous traffic calming schemes and far too many signs and lines. We need clutter reviews to remove unnecessary signs and lines. Perhaps we should use more traditional methods such as cattle grids to slow cars down rather than race track chicanes.”

The RAC Foundation and the CPRE are also urging the Government to follow the lead of the Scottish Executive in producing clear guidance on how to manage road furniture in rural areas. Calling on the Government to conduct a formal review of rural signage along the lines of the 1987 Guildford Review of Urban Signage, and highlighting the CPRE’s own “Guidelines on Signage in Rural Areas,”{4} as a starting point, King will suggest:-

• Clutter audits should be conducted to improve safety and visual/environmental impact.
• Signage at locations with a history of collisions should be examined to ensure that it is legible and simple to follow. While the onus is on drivers to learn signs and re-visit the Highway Code, confusing and poorly maintained signage can contribute to road collisions.
• In rural areas groups of signs should be combined into a single placard if the messages are necessary.
• Some signs should be smaller and shorter. The reverse of signs in rural areas should be painted to blend in with the landscape.
• Obtrusive traffic calming in small rural villages should be replaced with traditional features such as cattle grids.

King will also remind local authorities that all road signs should be regularly maintained, cleaned, kept free of foliage and be accurate.

Visual clutter makes it harder for drivers to perceive traffic lights and other safety signs. If there is too much information for the driver to take in this leads to too much arousal and the driver becomes stressed. High density of visual clutter slows down the search times for important visual information. Much distraction is unconscious but reaction times are slower even if the driver does not know he/she is being distracted.

American studies{5} suggest that in 10 to 30% of all accidents driver distraction is a factor and one third of these are caused by distractions outside the car. Younger drivers (17 – 21) are more prone to distractions. However, the figures are probably an underestimate as drivers rarely admit to being distracted, as they are concerned about insurance liability.

The Foundation’s motoring psychologist has argued that “five plus or minus two” is the amount of messages or points of information that we can think of and take in at any one time. If we are focusing on too many messages then we can miss some crucial information.

In terms of road safety, King will highlight studies{6} that show that even in built up areas 40% of fatalities are a result of run-off crashes. Of these, 20% hit signs, signposts, telegraph and lamp posts. Fewer signs will therefore create a safer roadside environment.

King suggests that even in urban areas fewer and clearer signs can help to reduce confusion and accidents.

Surveys by the Foundation show that more than half of UK motorists admit to not understanding even basic signs in the Highway Code and over half admit to getting lost during holiday journeys.  In urban areas at any particular time up to 15 per cent of drivers are estimated to be lost.

Yet across the UK, thousands of road signs which give route directions, street names, limits or hazards are confusing or have disappeared, been knocked down, obscured with grime or foliage or have been damaged.

ROAD SIGN FACT-FILE

The law

All approved road signs are set out in “Traffic Signs and General Directions Regulations.”  The Highway Authority and the local authority are the bodies responsible for approving and placing signs. They must not be:

• a potential physical hazard to highway users
• a hazardous distraction
• an obstruction to the highway
• an obstruction to visibility.

Road sign milestones

1903 – The Motor Car Act made local authorities responsible for placing approved warning and prohibitory signs. Before this date, local authorities, the RAC and the AA, cyclists clubs and concerned individuals all erected signs to warn of dangers ahead.

1904 – Regulations set out the form that approved signs should take. They are to show a hollow red triangle for warnings, a solid disc for a prohibition, and a hollow ring for a speed limit.

1921 – The Committee on Traffic Signs recommends additional standard warning signs and a standard format for directional signs. A and B numbering for roads is introduced.

1922 – Britain’s first reflecting road sign is erected in Surrey by the AA.

1922 – Britain’s first illuminated road sign is erected in Wrotham by the RAC. It is lit by acetylene.

1930 – Additional warning signs are authorised: advance direction signs; “keep left” and “keep right”; and warning signs for narrow roads and bridges. Instructions are given in words: “halt at major road ahead.”

1939 – The High Court rules in the case of Rees vs Taylor that not seeing the sign is not an excuse for breaking the law.

1964 – Regulations implement the Worboys Report, which recommended a major overhaul of the whole system of road signs. The Report advised replacing the 1904 signs with the continental-style road signs with pictograms. Over the next years 1.5 million old-style signs are replaced, though pre-1964 signs remain legal.

1968 – The first computerised motorway matrix warning signs are introduced on the M4.

1970 – Bilingual signs are authorised for Wales.

1987 – The Guildford Rules recommend best practice for urban design.

ENDS

The Foundation has photographs of incomprehensible signs, misleading signs etc available on request.

CPRE’s press office (telephone 020 7981 2880) can provide details of local CPRE groups who are working on the issue of roadside clutter in their areas.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE Hampshire survey. Full details available on request.

2. Hampshire County Council and CPRE Hampshire are to embark on a joint ‘clutter reduction’ project along a stretch of the A32 between West Meon and Wickham later this year, beginning with an audit of existing road signage.

3. The Foundation has photos from Bampton in Oxon to illustrate this.

4. The guidelines have been developed by CPRE Hampshire as part of their project with Hampshire County Council.

5. USA Fatality Analysis Reporting Systems.

6. EuroRAP report using data from UK, Germany, Sweden and Ireland.