To worry about the safety notices on motorways?

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The ones in orange lights that have messages like "Look out for bikes", "Keep your distance" or "Don't drink and drive"

To me, it seems that there more likely to be a distraction than to actually change anyone's behaviour. I mean, if you're the kind of driver who doesn't routinely keep your distance, is that going to change because a sign tells you to?

Meanwhile, the majority of drivers, who do routinely follow this advice are distracted momentarily while they read the signs.

Etihad if the signs are the same as other road signs in Wales, then whether Welsh or English comes first will reflect the proportion of Welsh speakers in the area. Not a lot of help for working it out if you aren't familiar with the area, though. I'm used to it, and can usually understand both anyway...

Thanks cardi that makes sense. I had thought it was just different local authorities with their own political agendas! I am starting to learn Welsh from the signs, though I thought an Araf was an animal you had to slow down for at first

fiveacres the gantry sign lied to me basically.

I think the ones on the Heathrow side of the M25 should say welcome to the car park Or Welcome to Hell.

I absolutely get the rage when they tell me the speed limit is 40 and I've not gone above 10 mph for half an hour.

I don't find the signs distracting but I do think some are weird. I love the sign not in use signs. They are so pointless.

The M25 ones by Heathrow could say 'ooh look- a plane'.

We drove down from "up north" once, and from a long way signs told us that the A3 was shut after the junction with Axxx. It was only when we got there that we realised the Axxx is the road we normally come off on. The road number is it one of the ones I recognise around here, a place name would have been more useful.

I used to love the ones you got in France (maybe still do, I've just not been for a while) that said 'Slow down - the sea's not going to evaporate!'

We'd never do sarky ones over here. We should.

Some of them have mutant camels in their background code

Sparkling

Chevrons intrigue me. For a while, the chevrons on the M62 round Ripponden were painted in the wrong direction. "Keep apart 2 chevrons" sounds illiterate to me.

^Today 20:40 Bunbaker

I do a lot of motorway driving and I find the signs useful and not the least bit distracting, especially when referring to road closures or traffic incidents. Maybe because I am a confident and fairly competent driver I don't have a problem with them.^

. This I have been doing long motorway journeys all over the UK for work for 20 years or so and very rarely use sat back. I know where the various junctions of various motorways are. I find the long distance warnings very useful indeed.

I would have appreciated a Keep your distance sign yesterday. It may have prevented the two vans that hit me driving quite so close as they were, when I had to stop suddenly.

Do you read quite slowly?

The signs could be better-written but having

I always remember one NYE, on the M6 and it was heavy snow. All three lanes about 6 inches deep in it. Went past a sign "snowplough in progress"
I think "lying bastards" came out my mouth

I agree Trills. I don't understand why some drivers find it difficult to read these signs.

I read fast, but I find signs distracting because the kind of concentration you have when you're driving is different. But, I don't find driving attention-consuming - I am alert, but also responding automatically to a lot of things, which is exactly the opposite of how I am when I'm reading, when I am relaxed, but responding consciously.

So I find the two things don't go very well together.

But it's only an issue where there are silly numbers of signs, and then I just feel a bit irritated.

This is more like it

We saw a couple the other day that said something along the lines of "check your vehicle before you set off"

Bit late telling me that halfway up the M1

I know what you mean, but if there was any evidence they were dangerous they wouldn't put them up

I find the UK motorways very cluttered with signs whenever we drive there (live in France).

Always wonder if they think Brits need to be constantly bombarded with information.

Hate British motorways. Like the service stations though. I love the m&s food shops everywhere now. The service stations have come a loooong way from the dumps they had back when I were a lass.

Queue ahead. 40 mph .

People don't see a queue and drive at 70 mph. Into the queue.

If people dropped their speed, the traffic would flow better and have an effect on the queue.

that a speed limit is less safe because you spend too long checking your speedo. Isn't that a rather basic driving skill?

I am involved at work (a bit) with the next generation of motorway improvements. I was interested by the comment that our motorways are cluttered and horrible. I agree. I mentioned this to a room full of engineer-blokes and they pshawed and said what does it matter on the M25 or urban Manchester what the infrastructure looks like?

I think motorways are part of our urban architecture and should be streamlined and have good visual coherence, personally. One woman crusade so far.

There was one near me claiming 'fog' once... It was the hottest day of the year and The sky was as clear as it could possibly be - gave me a good giggle!

I like the ones by us that say 'j1 10mins' or something to that effect. It's nice to know if the road ahead is busy or not.

I HATE the variable speed limit stretches of motorway with a passion. I used to drive through one on my commute and there was no logic. Sometimes the road would be gridlocked yet they would say 60, other times it would be completely clear and they'd say 40. And, this is what drove me crackers, in the 2 or three mile stretch they would often go '60' '60' '40' '60' for no reason whatsoever! Cue braking from everyone to avoid the speed cameras, dangerous and unnecessary as the roads were clear. I swear the council did it when they were running low on money just to bank the speeding fines.

We've also had M4/ M5 notices posted on the M25!

as someone who drives round the M25 and then along the M4, these are very useful. You can choose to take alternative route, eg for us, the M40 is possible, so yes these are useful signs.

I wish they gave place names not junction numbers though. I haven't a clue which junction it is.

I particularly like the ones saying 'Fog'

Yes. If only we could see the bloody signs - which we can't until we are right up on them because of the bloody fog.

Every fucking time.

I agree the motorway issues 200 miles away are useless without some sort of location [town or city] Who the hell knows which junctions a motorway is 200 miles away - unless you drive it every day and have memorised them?

I was delighted to see a closure notice for the A417 (Swindon) on the M27 (Portsmouth) - two totally different parts of the country but I happened to be travelling between those two points. Meant I could plan to stay on the M4 and go up the M5 instead.

For a moment I thought signs had gone all Minority Report and targeted cars with information about their routes