Skip to main content

New changes could cut Britain's 4.6 million road signs

New plans to allow local councils in Great Britain the freedom to cut down the number of road markings and signs have been announced by Roads Minister Robert Goodwill. The changes are included in a new consultation which also contains proposals for clearer road markings and new low-level signals for cyclists which will help improve safety on the roads.
May 2, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
New plans to allow local councils in Great Britain the freedom to cut down the number of road markings and signs have been announced by Roads Minister Robert Goodwill.
 
The changes are included in a new consultation which also contains proposals for clearer road markings and new low-level signals for cyclists which will help improve safety on the roads.
 
The proposals will reduce the number of signs that the 1837 Department for Transport will need to authorise and streamline the approval process for councils, cutting regulation.
 
Announcing the plans, Goodwill said: "The number of signs has soared from two million in 1993 to over 4.6 million today. This is causing unnecessary clutter in our towns and cities. The proposed changes will mean greater flexibility for councils to cut the number of signs, whilst ensuring consistency and making sure our roads are even safer for cyclists and motorists."
 
The changes will mean road users will have signs that are easier to understand and could cut clutter on the roads. The proposals will also look to relax regulations for parking bays and yellow-box junctions to give local councils greater flexibility in designing road layouts and markings.
 
The Department for Transport also plans to introduce a range of measures to help local authorities make roads safer for cyclists and encourage more people to take to two wheels. These include: bigger cycle boxes at traffic lights to make it safer for cyclists at junctions; low-level traffic light signals and filters that give cyclists a 'head start' on other traffic; the roll-out of shared crossings for pedestrians and cyclists which allow those on a bicycle to CROSS the road safety; and removing the 'lead-in' lanes at advance stop lines, which force cyclists to enter a cycle box alongside the kerb.
 
The Department has worked closely with local councils, traffic authorities, sign makers and consultants to revise the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD), which offers clear guidance to local councils on road signs and makings.
 
As part of the consultation, the Department is also holding nine events across Great Britain to explain the improvements and proposed changes to over 700 practitioners.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Commission adopts common rules on road haulage and public transport
    March 21, 2016
    The European Commission has adopted a series of rules for road hauliers and road passenger transport operators. They include a common classification of serious road safety infringements under transport legislation, as well as new specifications for smart tachographs (the device that records driving times of lorry, bus and coach drivers) making the best use of new digital technologies such as Galileo. The objective is to enhance road safety, contribute to a fairer competition between road transport operators
  • Kurtis McBride, Miovision: 'Digitalisation opens up opportunity'
    April 26, 2023
    Kurtis McBride, Miovision co-founder and CEO, talks about the importance of data – and why one bit of hardware capable of running a range of software solutions could be the future of transportation
  • Driven consortium aims to trial AVs in London before Christmas
    November 28, 2018
    The Driven consortium, led by software provider Oxbotica, hopes to trial a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AV) in London before Christmas following successful ongoing tests in Oxford. The vehicles will map streets in the London Borough of Hounslow as part of the consortium’s plans to run a fully autonomous fleet between both cities in 2019. Oxbotica has equipped the vehicles with its autonomous software, radar, lidar sensors and onboard computers and cameras. The fleet will gather data on the contents of
  • Egis in talks for Bordeaux lane-changing system
    October 8, 2015
    France-based international engineering and project installation group Egis is in discussions with Bordeaux’s city authorities to create a dynamic lane-changing system in the city.