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

  • Bristol brings together support services to form major emergency control centre
    October 20, 2017
    A new multi-purpose centre has opened in Bristol to house the council’s Emergency Control Centre, Traffic Control Centre and Community Safety (CCTV) Control Rooms into a single facility for major emergencies. These teams provide public safety services that use 700 CCTV cameras around the city with a large part of the centre dedicated to managing the city’s traffic network and monitoring the flow of traffic around Bristol.
  • USDOT ‘accelerating on V2V technology’
    May 15, 2015
    The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) is accelerating its timetable on a proposed V2V rule that would require vehicle-to-vehicle equipment --technology that allows cars to ‘talk’ to one another-- in all new vehicles. V2V technology is a critical element of the connected automation that makes driverless cars as safe as possible. Writing in the USDOT Fastlane blog, Transportation Secretary Antony Foxx announced that he has directed the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) t
  • Nortech and Idris vehicle classification technology trialled for tolling in China
    May 18, 2012
    South Africa-headquartered Nortech International, in conjunction with Beijing Navigator Technologies, has announced the conclusion of a successful trial of high accuracy vehicle classification for tolling on the Hebei Shi-huang Expressway in Hebei Province of China.
  • High-tech road studs can help tackle accident trend
    October 3, 2014
    According to road safety engineer Alan Vass of the Traffic and Road Safety section of Ayrshire Roads Alliance in Scotland, LED road studs have contributed to a 100 per cent reduction in incidents on a stretch of the A719 road in the county. Vass says the active studs, which use LED and solar technology to create delineation shown to be far more effective than traditional retro-reflective studs, could hold the key to a brighter future. He said: “There had been a number of accidents on the A719 near Wat