Give way...or give up?

It’s long been my belief that the way road signs are erected has little to do with the safe and organised flow of traffic and everything to do with council departments justifying their budgets.

On top of that, it’s turned into a nice little earner for the industry which makes them.

I reached that conclusion years ago after a drive down Southwell Road West in Mansfield where, in the space of around a quarter of a mile, it appeared someone had fly-tipped half of that year’s road sign production.

There were so many that it was impossible to take in all the advice they were giving. Worse, some repeated the same message so often that you began to wonder whether you were living in a goldfish bowl and going round in circles.

And on top of that, they made a clean, simple road look like officialdom had simply emptied a dustbin all over it.

It was confusing, it was annoying, it was wasteful. And it was just one road. You’ll all have your own favourite roads, dual carriageways, alleyways even, where signs are either completely overdone or totally unnecessary. Or both.

So, I was thrilled to hear yesterday that Transport Minister Norman Baker hoped to “dramatically reduce” the number of road signs in the wake of the biggest review into this nice little earner in 40 years.

Let me quote the Minister: “Sometimes the jungles of signs and tangles of white, red and yellow lines can leave people more confused than informed. This expensive clutter can also leave our roadsides looking unsightly and unwelcoming, so the changes I am announcing today will help councils cut the number of signs they need to use.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself – a clear acknowledgement that councils and highway authorities spray white and yellow paint around like it’s going out of fashion, and appear oblivious to the fact that every new sign is yet another unsightly distraction.

It sometimes seem as if highway teams lurk round corners giving virgin tarmac five minutes to set before they dive in and stab it to death with signs in triplicate.

So, Mr Baker’s announcement is going to bring an end to this ridiculous and expensive little industry, right? Not exactly...

Elsewhere in his announcement are a number of phrases which, I confidently predict, highway authorities will leap on and use as a justification for continuing to litter our countryside with ugly and unnecessary statements of the bleedin’ obvious.

I quote:

“These new measures will significantly cut red tape by allowing councils to put in place frequently used signs without needing to get government permission every time.”

Which may be translated at the town hall as: You’ve got licence to plant more signs.

Or:

“There will be new signs to alert drivers to parking spaces with charging points for electric vehicles and councils will be able to indicate estimated journey times on cycle routes, to help people plan their journeys.”

Which translates as: You can also plant a whole load of new signs alongside the ones you already litter the pavement with.

There is a miserable predictability about all this. A government minister admits there is a problem we’ve known about for years and announces clear and decisive action...which will make no difference whatsoever.

I would love to think councils will leap on this as an opportunity to do things differently at a time when they are painfully short of money.

The cynic in me suggests that they simply can’t stop themselves telling you what to do, and that the desire to preserve departments and budgets means this is a habit they can’t kick.

Cynicism aside, there’s a serious point to all this. Road signage and layouts have in places become complicated to the point where they are distracting and difficult to understand. Planting huge yellow signs which shout ‘Speed Kills’ seems almost ironic.

Roadsides are no place for sloganeering.