Road signs could bring Easter mayhem

Only four per cent of Britain's motorists are up to speed with even a small fraction of the Highway Code.

It seems before we head out on the roads for an Easter getaway, we could do with a little Highway Code cramming. By law, all motorists should adhere to the Code, yet only one in 25 managed to correctly identify three road signs and two manoeuvres in a moneysupermarket.com survey.

Sixty three per cent of motorists failed at the first hurdle in the survey, with bewilderment being the general reaction to the sign for 'no vehicles'. Twenty two per cent thought the sign meant 'obey next warning sign' – not too far behind the 37 per cent that actually knew the answer.

Roads where you aren't allowed to go slower than 30mph could bring real Easter chaos. Thirty-five per cent of drivers will know they have to tear along at more than 30mph, while 44 per cent will mistakenly think that hitting 31mph could result in a speeding fine. The other 21 per cent will have no idea what to do when they see the sign.

The written survey questions exposed real potential peril for pedestrians. When turning left into a side road, only 78 per cent of drivers know it is pedestrians they should be especially aware of.

As for U-turns, only 26 per cent of drivers know before making one they should 'signal so that other drivers can slow down for you'.

Richard Mason, director of insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: "It seems drivers haven't kept up to speed with the Highway Code since cramming to pass their driving tests.

"No one wants to be a real-life crash-test dummy, so motorists need to get their thinking caps on when it comes to the Code.

"To know and use it properly is legally required. Ignorance is not an excuse if you are caught flouting the rules. Drivers can be fined, disqualified from driving, given penalty points or even sent to prison."