Confusing road signs, seriously?

Not a DM regular but I was directed to this article by CCaWiWF[/url]

Mr Baker signalled an end to what he called the ‘Evel Knievel’ sign, which appears to show a motorbike vaulting over a car.

It is meant to indicate that no vehicles are allowed in a road.

He also condemned the triangular signs used to warn motorists of roadworks ahead, which he described as looking like a man opening an umbrella.sounds like an april fools article but apparently it’s not, just another combatant in the fightback on the “War On Motorists”

do you know what white countdown markers on a black background are warning you of?

apparently they don’t use them anymore, but I’ve seen some still in use, could be lead to quite an unpleasant surprise.

do you know what white countdown markers on a black background are warning you of?

apparently they don’t use them anymore, but I’ve seen some still in use, could be lead to quite an unpleasant surprise.

Do they warn of a double post?

That would be on the approach to a railway crossing.

How on earth is the roadworks sign confusing?

I thought that was one of the obvious ones.

If you are confused by those road signs you shouldn’t be driving. Shows how much the people in the article know about the highway code!

If you are confused by those road signs you shouldn’t be driving. Shows how much the people in the article know about the highway code!

+1

The two signs highlighted above have been around for decades and are common – there is no reason not to understand them.

It’s not confusing road signs, it’s dumb motorists, eyes fixed on their prat-nav.

next month “the driving test is too hard and licences will be given out with tea bags”

I wish more people took a bit more pride in their driving.

Anyone know what a red circle with a white inner and no picture means?

I could have used that a couple of times as work but the plan was rejected as “people will not know what the sign means”

Bloody frustrating.

Given the conversation on here the other day I’d say the National Speed Limit sign is widely misunderstood. 🙂

This and other things I’ve read on here recently make me think that everyone should have a refresher test every 5 years. I don’t think people should automatically have their licences taken away but their insurance could be loaded if people failed to reach a certain standard.

TMM, why not take the licence away if they fail to meet the required standard? Seems the only sensible thing to do.

everyone should have a refresher test every 5 years

+1.

People develop bad habits, signs and regulations change, rules are half remembered from a test sat thirty odd years ago. I think it is quite odd that we don’t retest.

There are a few around here that are

Circle
White edge
Blue colour
White diag cross on them

They look like faded clearway signs but they are new. Not in highway code book or Wiki….

Anyone?

http://www.daysoff.co.uk/humour/rude/rude-driving/roadsigns.jpg

Some signs are even more confusing to non-drivers, eg the ‘no cycling’ sign. Most youngsters of pre-driving age would take the sign as meaning ‘route for cyclists’. Surely a sign with a diagonal line through it would be much more obvious. But how do you change signs which us old’uns have been recognising for years without causing total confusion? Maybe by intoducing new ones and then phasing out old ones?

Anyone know what a red circle with a white inner and no picture means?

No Vehicles

(That was from memory, now let’s google it…)

Yup. Correct.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_070642.pdf

**Feels smug**
🙂

RS4KEV – Member
There are a few around here that are

Circle
White edge
Blue colour
White diag cross on them

They look like faded clearway signs but they are new. Not in highway code book or Wiki….

Anyone?

Doesn’t that mean there’s a sale on at the local department store? 😕

RS4KEV,

sounds like an interesting one. Are you in the UK? Any chance of a picture in context? It’s not anything that’s in the Traffic Signals Regulations and General Directions that I can see which looks anything like that.

Is it perhaps a national speed limit sign for a Smurf?

psling, circles are regulatory signs so shouldn’t be mistake for an approved cycle route. All road users should know the rules of the road be it on a bike or in a car. Similar to the OP, the “flying bike” sign doesn’t have a red diagonal either.

psling, circles are regulatory signs so shouldn’t be mistake for an approved cycle route. All road users should know the rules of the road be it on a bike or in a car. Similar to the OP, the “flying bike” sign doesn’t have a red diagonal either.

I know that and you know that; we both drive. I was suggesting that the (no cycling sign in paticular) was misleading to a 13 year old who has just been repimanded by a local DM reader for riding beyond such a sign 8)

RS4KEV – Member
There are a few around here that are

Circle
White edge
Blue colour
White diag cross on them

They look like faded clearway signs but they are new. Not in highway code book or Wiki….

Anyone?

You are now entering Scotland.

Circle
White edge
Blue colour
White diag cross on them

Scottish drivers only?

Placement can also lead to confusion. What would you interpret this lot as meaning you can / can’t do?
[/url]
The beginning of the end[/url] by gary_foulger[/url], on Flickr

What would you interpret this lot as meaning you can / can’t do?

Lets see,
bike/walk route to town centre
no bikes
end of shared use bike lane/pavement
AKA bloody useless road planners/implementers

I saw some signs over Xmas in roadworks.

Square/rectangular, yellow background, black border, with a number (50) in it. My wife says 50mph speed limit, but that isn’t a legal Max Speed sign (Round, white b/ground, red border) Does that mean it’s advisory? In which case non-enforcable?

Just 50? Advisory speed limits usually say max speed, and aren’t on their own. Not enforceable, same as overhead matrix signs (apart from the newer ones with red circles on some motorways..). Small and on its own could be a marker of some kind.

Blue circle with white line on it is an odd one, keep left/right and someone’s pinched the arrowhead? 😀

RS4KEV,

sounds like an interesting one. Are you in the UK? Any chance of a picture in context? It’s not anything that’s in the Traffic Signals Regulations and General Directions that I can see which looks anything like that.

Is it perhaps a national speed limit sign for a Smurf?

Regrettably in the UK….

These are on roadside near Wareham Dorset (on way to Purbecks). Have been tempted to ask highways agency/council. Will take photo next time i pass and it’s daylight.

watch the skies……………

Square/rectangular, yellow background, black border, with a number (50) in it. My wife says 50mph speed limit, but that isn’t a legal Max Speed sign (Round, white b/ground, red border) Does that mean it’s advisory? In which case non-enforcable?

I think it’s the speed limit through the roadworks. Often accompanied by a square white one with a black border and an image of a primitive camera

Seen tonight on my way home; square yellow sign, black border, black circle on the right hand side, black arrow on the left…. Means nothing to me – something to do with the new build flats 1 click down the road?

[/url]
Ninja Entry[/url] by gary_foulger[/url], on Flickr

Seen tonight on my way home; square yellow sign, black border, black circle on the right hand side, black arrow on the left…. Means nothing to me – something to do with the new build flats 1 click down the road?

It’s a diversion sign pointing out the route you should follow.

I saw a sign last week – a red triangle, with white background and all it had in the middle was and exclaimation mark… I mean, what the hell?!

a red triangle, with white background and all it had in the middle was and exclaimation mark

Warning – Surprise ahead

A184 (dual-carriageway) near me has an NSL sign with a 50 speed limit sign directly below it on the same lamppost.

Like this:

Any thoughts on how to interpret that?

The symbol on a yellow rectangle is, as someone else said, is a diversion. Symbols are used to differentiate between multiple diversion routes. If there’s no text, you’ve missed the start of the diversion (ie, it doesn’t affect you).

The ‘faded clearway’ sign sounds like a faded clearway sign. I can’t think of anything else it can be.

The roadworks speed limit signs -should- contain a regular speed sign inside the yellow box, as per the (50) sign pictured above. It’s possibly an invalid sign without this; I suspect that it’s intended to be mandatory but may be an exploitable loophole if you were to get caught speeding. How brave are you feeling?

Related to this, matrix signs showing yellow flashing lights next to speed limits are advisory only. Mandatory instructions are accompanied by red flashing lights. Some of the new ‘variable speed limit’ road sections have matrix displays which show the red circle as per a regular sign; these too are mandatory.

The Exclamation warning triangle means “here’s a hazard we don’t have a specific sign for” – it should be accompanied by a plate underneath elaborating on what this is. Perhaps it’s fallen off. Here’s an example,

The NSL / (50) on the same post is presumably a mistake, assuming one or the other hasn’t been turned round 180′ or something. Is there one on the other side of the road that might give you a clue? At face value you’ve got a sign saying ‘end of restriction’ and another saying ‘new restriction’ so logically the 50 would take precedence. I reckon they’d have a hard time prosecuting you for an infraction though, assuming you contested a ticket.

(bonus points for working out why I’m standing under a sign saying ‘badgers’ whilst wearing a bowler hat and a brown coat)

This got a few people in Glasgow a bit of bother!

Cougar – The roadworks speed signs aren’t accompanied by ‘legal’ speed limit signs. I can’t see that they would be enforcable, but they have cameras.

Can I have a day off from work to go to court to contest it?