To wonder WTF this flashing traffic sign is all about?

[SinkGirl]

We live on a side road off a main road, and last week noticed a new flashing sign on a lamppost halfway down the main road. It flashes THANK YOU as you go past. At the top it says something like “watch your speed”. I’ve seen speed detector signs before but not one that flashes text at you and I said to DH I thought it was dangerous.

This morning we were taking the kids to nursery and there’s now a new sign underneath it. It’s a name and shame board - it’s a leaderboard of the week’s top ten speeders, with columns for name, car and MPH.

WTAF is this? Surely this can’t be an official thing? Who is compiling this information, and how are they getting names? It’s so bizarre.

The whole thing just seems more likely to cause an accident than prevent one.

It’s directly outside some houses so did one of the owners put it there?
Anyone seen anything like this?

I bet it’s a Lib Dem. the lurve putting up fake road signs. Mind you, it’s not orange.

How long before the first accident due to someone being distracted trying to read the names? Where do they get the names from? What if someone has a stalker and then they find out their car reg?

So someone has to physically update it on a regular basis with a marker pen? You would think it would cause more accidents and careless driving as people slow down to try and read it!

That would put me off while driving as I’d want to read the leaderboard!

I can’t get my head round the logo. It feels like maybe some boy racers found the speed monitoring hilarious and put the sign up themselves? Either way it’s bloody weird.

Will send a pic to the council and see what they say. The leaderboard is definitely at risk of distracting drivers IMO

My first reaction given the 'high score' title was that some members of the public had put the leaderboard up to make some kind of point.

If it was official, surely it would have a title like 'worst speeders'

This would have the opposite effect on me - I'm so competitive I'd want to be at the top (like Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car)

@SinkGirl. Get in touch with the DVLA and alert them to this misuse of data. While organisations, such as the Police or a Local Authority can request the data about a registered owner, they have a duty to protect the confidentiality of it. In this case, whoever has requested it has obviously not complied with these conditions.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804462/inf266-release-of-information-from-dvlas-registers.pdf

This may not be legal

It just seems really unlikely that they’re managing to get names from reg numbers so now I’ve had a proper look at it I’m more inclined to think it’s someone making a joke. I was so stunned by it this morning I didn’t take it all in!

Will send some emails with the photo this afternoon.

the leader board is clearly an amateur addition. if the data is being compiled by an anti speed campaigner it is probably illegal for it to be collected. if teen racers are signing up their scores with pride then there is no data protection breach at least.

Yes that’s my thinking now. It’s funny how your brain sees something quickly and fills in gaps - this morning I only managed to focus on what was in the columns, didn’t see the surrounding text properly or the crappy nature of it. And weirdly I was sure it was in green pen - maybe I’m the one who’s mad?!

There are loads of flashing signs. If they distract a driver to the extent they think that a flashing sign is dangerous, then perhaps that person shouldn't really be driving.

@followingonfromthat the flashing sign isn't what's distracting. It's the leaderboard that's distracting.

Definitely looks like some local boy racers having some fun with the new flashing sign.

I think it’s boy racers which suggests to me whoever set up the sign hasn’t put speeds over a certain figure in stealth mode, so the data is captured but they don’t flash. That’s what we have done, so anything over 50 doesn’t flash, just says slow down and the data is captured behind the scene

Have sent emails to the council (probably pointless) and the local paper (more likely to get it looked at - not much news round here!). Mainly I’m more curious about how it came to be than anything else!

Op post it in your local FB community/selling pages and tag all the local councillors. Someone will know something.

it’s a leaderboard of the week’s top ten speeders, with columns for name, car and MPH.

I'd have thought that was a challenge to all the local boy racers to try and be top of the list.

Quite hard to read but doesn't the top line on the "leader board" have a speed of 20mph?
Is traffic often bad on that street and queued up? Could this be someone who found it amusing that a speed detecting sign has gone up on a street where it's actually impossible to do the speed limit?
My guess would be that all the names/car make/speeds are made up - not linked to the sign at all.

At busy times the road is pretty busy - I’m sure people do speed down it say at night because it’s a hill, if is empty I suspect it happens.

But yes, I do think the top row says 20MPH!

Whoever it is has clearly been very bored 🙄

Just came on here to say that I saw one of these too today so maybe it's a national thing. But it turns out you're local to me

The only name I saw was "RobRob"so I suspect local hijinks are afoot.

Well there you go - local paper was the right place to contact after all. Top story on their website (told you there wasn’t much news 😂)

www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/18177497.speed-indicator-device-scoreboard-condemned/

sink I saw this earlier when I had a quick look at the local news online and thought of you!!

Not just your sign

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-51205144?fbclid=IwAR2JlTKKu6hCwQrVJIIbhkAA76f4a57eLSrQwJZ1Q4z8xYXEprjC2Xq8GlA