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Saturday, September 13, 2008
The Department for Transport is to undertake its largest review of road signs for 40 years in an attempt to de-clutter Britain’s roads.
The review, the most comprehensive since the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, will look at the effectiveness of the current signs. The DfT hopes that the review will make roads safer, and it will use the latest traffic sign technology to ease congestion and aid traffic flow.
Minister for Transport Rosie Winterton wants road users, the highways authorities and road organisations to assist in the review, and believes that the way road signs are used needs to change. "Road conditions have changed dramatically over the years - and road signs need to keep pace with that change to provide the best information possible to all road users," said Winterton.
The DfT will also look to tackle the problem of unnecessary and out-of-date signs that can cause confusion on the roads.
President of the AA, Edmund King, has welcomed the review. “Clear, concise, relevant road signs help reduce congestion, CO2, frustration and accidents,” he said. “Confusing signs do the opposite, so we welcome a root-and-branch review of the UK's traffic signing system.”
The first meeting is scheduled to take place next month; the review process should be established by 2009.
George Barrow
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