British drivers demand new road signs

Half of British drivers think there are too many signs adorning our road sides and nearly a third (27%) say they can’t read them because they are too confusing, according to research from Virgin Money Car Insurance.

A similar number also believe these signs do not provide enough information on modern day driver hazards, such as rip off petrol, sneaky speed traps and drunks falling out into the road in binge booze areas, focusing instead on pointless and out dated information.

In an effort to cut the clutter and overcome this road side confusion, the motoring team at Virgin Money polled motorists on some new signs more relevant to modern driving conditions.

The most popular signs for today’s modern day hazards, chosen by drivers, were warnings for boy racer zones, absurdly large 4 wheel drives clogging up small urban roads, rip off petrol and sneaky speed traps. Whilst other modern day menaces such as binge booze areas and hoodie wearers were also considered worthy of a warning sign.

Jason Wyer Smith of Virgin Money Car Insurance commented: “It seems busy roads are not the only bugbear of drivers, road side conditions and signage also frustrate drivers. Our poll shows that there is definitely an argument for addressing the relevance of signs on our roads today.”

The ‘Road-Signs of Our Times’ report also found that:

More men (53%) than women (43%) think that road sides are too cluttered with signs
Only one in 10 drivers are satisfied with the road signs in their area
A sign for boy racer style driving was the most popular across the country, except for the North West where drivers favoured a sign for 4 Wheel Drivers and the Welsh who wanted more signs warning of OAPs