Road signs review?

[martine]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344425/Road-signs-confuse-drivers-scrapped.html
But bearing in mind this is from the Dail Mail it may well be a load of tosh...

[gannet]

Beware of molehills

[michael769]

There is a new version of TSRGD in the pipeline. I suspect this is nothing more than the normal consultation process.

[TripleS]

Beware of molehills

Potholes seem to be more of a problem round our way, to the extent that lots of drivers now seem to be swerving to try and find the least disturbing route through the whole mess; and that is not helping to promote safe driving!

So far as road maintenance is concerned the authorities seem to have been 'saving money' for years, with the result that the final bill for restoring decent roads quality (if we ever return to that) will be higher than ever. In the meantime it is costing road users a lot more in wear and tear on their vehicles - if not actual damage of tyres and wheels, plus spring breakages etc.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[TripleS]

There is a new version of TSRGD in the pipeline. I suspect this is nothing more than the normal consultation process.

Well whatever it is I very much hope it will result in a greatly simplified regime of signs and road markings. We've got far more of this nonsense than anybody needs - unless job creation is an objective!

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Renny]

Beware of molehills

Free-form speed humps?

[Gareth]

lots of drivers now seem to be swerving to try and find the least disturbing route through the whole mess; and that is not helping to promote safe driving!

The swerving is sometimes indicative of driving too closely to the vehicle in front, or too fast. So the bad driving gives rise to the swerving rather than the other way around.

[TripleS]

lots of drivers now seem to be swerving to try and find the least disturbing route through the whole mess; and that is not helping to promote safe driving!

The swerving is sometimes indicative of driving too closely to the vehicle in front, or too fast. So the bad driving gives rise to the swerving rather than the other way around.

Yes, I'm sure that following another vehicle too closely will exacerbate the problem, but that doesn't explain all of it. People are now swerving about within their lane (I'm talking about SC roads now) and sometimes even crossing the centre-line to avoid the worst of the holes. The principle (even if normally applied) of driving down the centre of the lane, and changing position for improved vision, has clearly been superseded by the wish to try and find a decent way through, and this should not be necessary. Safety is being compromised by this.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[jont]

So far as road maintenance is concerned the authorities seem to have been 'saving money' for years, with the result that the final bill for restoring decent roads quality (if we ever return to that) will be higher than ever. In the meantime it is costing road users a lot more in wear and tear on their vehicles - if not actual damage of tyres and wheels, plus spring breakages etc.

I'm not even convinced any money is actually being saved given
1) The compensation costs for people who do successfully sue the council
2) The attitude that they'd rather spend £1000 every year bodging repairs than spend £10000 on some new surface that might last 20 years.

[TripleS]

So far as road maintenance is concerned the authorities seem to have been 'saving money' for years, with the result that the final bill for restoring decent roads quality (if we ever return to that) will be higher than ever. In the meantime it is costing road users a lot more in wear and tear on their vehicles - if not actual damage of tyres and wheels, plus spring breakages etc.

I'm not even convinced any money is actually being saved given
1) The compensation costs for people who do successfully sue the council
2) The attitude that they'd rather spend £1000 every year bodging repairs than spend £10000 on some new surface that might last 20 years.

Yes, that's what I mean, any savings are merely short term and soon get cancelled out. Over the longer term it proves to be a false economy, even for those who decide the priorities for spending. The increased maintenance costs for road users, plus all the frustration and irritation created within drivers - which can lead to reduced safety - makes the whole thing a complete nonsense, and those responsible deserve to be in receipt of a major backlash - which I hope is what they'll get.

What seems to be overlooked is that once a hole forms, it deteriorates ever more rapdily as a result of frost action and the edges of the hole being thumped by wheel loads. In the case of lorries and other large vehicles these heavy impacts lead to a break-up of the base layers and foundation of the road, which then makes it a much larger job to get it back to a proper standard.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[gannet]

I'm not even convinced any money is actually being saved given
1) The compensation costs for people who do successfully sue the council

Include me in that when mrs gannet suffered a torn sidewall in Feb last year - council didn't even fight it

[Big Err]

Include me in that when mrs gannet suffered a torn sidewall in Feb last year - council didn't even fight it

To fight or pay out a claim is based on what the roads authorities actions have been in relation to their policy and standards for roads maintenance. In the far and distance past when I had some involvement in this our loss adjusters would only go to court against a claim if our procedures in inspecting, reporting and repairing were strictly adhered to. If there was any failings the claim was paid out. However, we also employed experts to examine damaged tyres as many claims involved illegal tyres, or tyres with evidence of being under inflated prior to the incident.

As far as road repair budgets are concerned, in the period from 1995 to 2002 the budgets I had for safety repairs and programmed patching did not change despite increase costs. The winter budget may have reduced although I cannot clearly recall, however in many cases the depots with large salt storage facilities were being split up to accommodate other council services. In one case a depot was reduced from 3 salt barns to 1 with a new system of salt on demand being operated. This system spectacularly fails when demand is at its highest (during snowfall) and the routes from the supplier are blocked by - yes you've guessed it - snow.

[Big Err]

Too many signs and confusing signs!

Music to my ears. Maybe my policy of saying no to silly sign requests over the years may be adopted by others...

[TripleS]

Too many signs and confusing signs!

Music to my ears. Maybe my policy of saying no to silly sign requests over the years may be adopted by others...

Let us hope so.

Incidentally, in addition to excessive concentrations of official road signs, are there any rules that forbid the placing of unofficial signs close to official ones? For example, I mean signs and notices giving directions to tourist attractions, because they can sometimes add to the information overload suffered by road users.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Big Err]

Incidentally, in addition to excessive concentrations of official road signs, are there any rules that forbid the placing of unofficial signs close to official ones? For example, I mean signs and notices giving directions to tourist attractions, because they can sometimes add to the information overload suffered by road users.

Brown tourist signs with the appropriate permissions are legal, but should be positioned so they do not obscure other signs. Unfortunately it would seem that when a tourist destination is given permission for official brown signs they seem to forget that permission does not mean the same as entitled and that the signs should not be used for advertising.