MP’s Bill to clear countryside clutter backed by RAC Foundation and CPRE
8 March 2007
The countryside environment and motorists’ lives could both be saved if MPs back a new Bill today, according to the RAC Foundation and the CPRE, supporting Alan Duncan MP’s Streetscape and Highways Design Bill, which receives its Second Reading on Friday 9 March.
Since the modern system of signage was introduced the number of road signs in the Highway Code has soared by 44 per cent, and areas of outstanding natural beauty like the South Downs are beginning to resemble the North Circular, with intrusive traffic calming, clutters of contradictory signs, and far too many signs and lines. A case study[1] of the B3006 in Hampshire, carried out by the CPRE, found 45 signs per mile.
Though signs are put up with the intention of protecting road users, too much information can actually reduce road safety. A high density of visual clutter slows down the search times for important visual information, and makes it harder for drivers to pick out traffic lights and other safety signs[2]. Reaction times are slower - even if the driver does not know they are being distracted.
The RAC Foundation and the CPRE have been campaigning together to urge the Government to produce clear guidance on how to manage road furniture in rural areas, and both organisations are urging MPs to back the Bill.
The Streetscape and Highways Design Bill would require the Government to issue guidance on how to balance traffic management needs against the impact of any new signs on the surrounding environment. It would also require highways authorities to make sure that signs do not cause unnecessary visual intrusion, while still providing timely, relevant information to road users.
The RAC Foundation also welcomes the Bill’s requirement that highways authorities should carry out regular audits of signs and lines. The RAC Foundation and CPRE have already published a set of guidelines, “Principles of Signage in Rural Areas,” for local authorities to carry out “clutter audits” on roads in their counties, in order to:-
• reduce unnecessary signage, as in Northumberland;
• restore countryside character through the use of fingerposts and other locally distinctive signage where possible, as in the Surrey Hills; and
• to keep a record of the number of signs they have managed to remove.
Sheila Rainger, Campaigns Manager for the RAC Foundation, said: "It is time to call a halt to the cluttering of the countryside with unnecessary, inappropriate road signs. Too much information can be as detrimental to road safety as none at all. The RAC Foundation welcomes this Bill, with its powerful emphasis on the need to protect of our visual environment as well provide only timely, relevant information to the road user. We believe that cutting down on clutter will have real benefits for the motorist as well as the environment.”
Paul Miner, CPRE's Planning Campaigner, said: "Even in our national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, there are up to 45 signs per mile destroying any feeling of wilderness or tranquillity. We strongly welcome this Bill's call for strong guidance on the use of road signage, and for each highway authority to get a proper grip on the mushrooming number of signs on the road network. We'd commend the joint guidelines we produced with the RAC Foundation as a starting point for how the Bill's measures can become reality."
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.
Since the modern system of signage was introduced the number of road signs in the Highway Code has soared by 44 per cent, and areas of outstanding natural beauty like the South Downs are beginning to resemble the North Circular, with intrusive traffic calming, clutters of contradictory signs, and far too many signs and lines. A case study[1] of the B3006 in Hampshire, carried out by the CPRE, found 45 signs per mile.
Though signs are put up with the intention of protecting road users, too much information can actually reduce road safety. A high density of visual clutter slows down the search times for important visual information, and makes it harder for drivers to pick out traffic lights and other safety signs[2]. Reaction times are slower - even if the driver does not know they are being distracted.
The RAC Foundation and the CPRE have been campaigning together to urge the Government to produce clear guidance on how to manage road furniture in rural areas, and both organisations are urging MPs to back the Bill.
The Streetscape and Highways Design Bill would require the Government to issue guidance on how to balance traffic management needs against the impact of any new signs on the surrounding environment. It would also require highways authorities to make sure that signs do not cause unnecessary visual intrusion, while still providing timely, relevant information to road users.
The RAC Foundation also welcomes the Bill’s requirement that highways authorities should carry out regular audits of signs and lines. The RAC Foundation and CPRE have already published a set of guidelines, “Principles of Signage in Rural Areas,” for local authorities to carry out “clutter audits” on roads in their counties, in order to:-
• reduce unnecessary signage, as in Northumberland;
• restore countryside character through the use of fingerposts and other locally distinctive signage where possible, as in the Surrey Hills; and
• to keep a record of the number of signs they have managed to remove.
Sheila Rainger, Campaigns Manager for the RAC Foundation, said: "It is time to call a halt to the cluttering of the countryside with unnecessary, inappropriate road signs. Too much information can be as detrimental to road safety as none at all. The RAC Foundation welcomes this Bill, with its powerful emphasis on the need to protect of our visual environment as well provide only timely, relevant information to the road user. We believe that cutting down on clutter will have real benefits for the motorist as well as the environment.”
Paul Miner, CPRE's Planning Campaigner, said: "Even in our national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty, there are up to 45 signs per mile destroying any feeling of wilderness or tranquillity. We strongly welcome this Bill's call for strong guidance on the use of road signage, and for each highway authority to get a proper grip on the mushrooming number of signs on the road network. We'd commend the joint guidelines we produced with the RAC Foundation as a starting point for how the Bill's measures can become reality."
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.
ENDS
The Foundation has photographs of incomprehensible signs, misleading signs etc available on request.
CPRE can provide regional examples of clutter-busting successes.
1. CPRE Hampshire survey. Full details available on request.
2. Conspicuity of Traffic Signs – the effect of clutter, luminance and ageing. Ho, G. Caird, C. and Graw, T. Human Factors 43, 194-207.
