Warning on 'road sign confusion'
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4718502.stm
Cars on a road which features a number of signs. Copyright: Ady Kerry
An abundance of signs can be confusing, the foundation says
Drivers are in danger of having accidents because they are being overloaded with journey information, the RAC Foundation has warned.
A clutter of contradictory signs cause confusion that can lead to crashes, executive director Edmund King will tell a London transport conference.
The popularity of in-car devices adds to this "overload", he will say.
The foundation is calling for a review of signing and urging drivers to plan journeys in advance.
Highly-trained people can manage seven or eight pieces of information, but for Joe or Juliet Public, it's really only three or four
Sheila Rainger
RAC Foundation
The foundation cites evidence that the average motorist can deal with little more than three pieces of information at one time.
That could include a radio traffic report, a warning sign ahead and direction advice from a satellite navigation system, it says.
The RAC Foundation's Sheila Rainger explained: "There's all the information in the car, high tech devices, and there's also all the information outside the car provided by road signs, traffic lights, speed limits perhaps painted on the road.
"There's only so much the brain can take in at any one time and a real danger something really important like a red light could be missed."
Signage worry
"Very highly-trained people like fighter pilots can manage seven or eight pieces of information coming at them, but for Joe or Juliet Public, it's really only three or four.
The RAC Foundation's Edmund King added: "We've all been there, driving along, a little bit lost, trying to follow directions in an unknown area.
"We will actually turn the radio down and tell passengers to be quiet and we do this instinctively to avoid information overload.
"Let's make the signs clearer, let's make them plainer, let's have only the signs that we really need."
The RAC Foundation says thousands of the UK's road signs are confusing or have disappeared, been damaged or obscured with grime and foliage.
He is calling for signs to be put up further back from multi-lane entries to tell drivers which lane they need to get into.
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'He is calling for signs to be put up further back from multi-lane entries to tell drivers which lane they need to get into.'
Yes please - the number of times I've queued on the inside lane at a set of lights or a roundabout only to eventually see a road marking which indicates the left hand lane is left turn only.
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for Joe or Juliet Public, it's really only three or four Sheila Rainger RAC Foundation
Cheeky monkey. What proof does she have of that?
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L\'escargot.
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As there is no evidence actually cited in that report to prove the case, we probably need to wait to see it before coming to a conclusion.
It would be interesting to know exactly how many crashes have been caused because someone was confused by signs. My gut feeling is that number has actually not been measured; I'm prepared to be proven wrong of course!
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Saw a close thing today, where since the council are reworking a roundabout most of the usual signs are covered or missing.
The incident happened on the A30 at the chiverton cross roudabout (anyone who knows the roundabout knows it has a lot of accidents at the best of time)the only luck on was that it was quiet and during the day.
Basically two vans were in convoy travelling from the direction of redruth aiming for the A3075 to Newquay, the first mistake was to get in the right hand lane on approach, once onto the roundabout they realised the mistake and both vans cut up a car, that was leaving the roundabout onto the A3075 although it was a near miss if the rounabout was busy it would have caused a serious problem.
The worst for me was on the M25 where they are reworking the M4 link roads, aiming for the M4 I decided to come off at it's first mention which was for the Heathrow terminals, this lead me onto the new dual carridgeway which runs alongside the main motorway but no mention of M4 southwest. that is until the last slip road with one small sign on the main motorway which stated "M4 Southwest" this lane cut right across the dual carridgeway.
This shows the other end of the scale, that is lack of signs.
The biggest problem either situation causes is new drivers to the area, with drivers who know the local system. the new drivers are more hessitent, slower and may indicate then change their mind, drivers who know the area may turn without indicating since they know where they are going, become iritated with the slower new drivers and may tailgate making the new drivers feel intimdated on top of being hesitent.
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Perhaps there are too many signs in some places but I think they're rather colourful and pretty.
Don't get caught by one misleading sign I know, though. On the A36 at Limpley Stoke, going north towards Bath is a 'queues round bend ahead' warning with flashing amber lights that come on when there is a hidden queue around the bend ahead. I drive this road a lot and the sign is fairly reliable - if the lights are flashing there is a queue, if they're not there isn't...... on about 90% of occasions. So only use the sign as a guide - sometimes there's a queue and the lights aren't flashing and sometimes they're flashing and the queue has gone - be warned!
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