Pointless road signs to be removed by local councils under new scheme

We’ve all come up to a junction and realised we have to take in information from often irrelevant signs

On the face of it, it’s a great idea. We’ve all come up to a junction and realised that we have to take in information from rows of signs, some of them important, some of them irrelevant.

The DfT has designed to launch a scheme to get local councils to remove the ones that aren’t needed – like signs about a changed junction that changed years ago.

We’d all go along with that. And the DfT reckons the move could save taxpayers £30m by 2020 since all safety signs must be illuminated. This is an optional plan, and won’t be enforced, but already some concerns are being flagged up.

Neil Greig from the IAM supports the move overall but feels we need to be careful what signs get taken down.

"Removing safety-conscious signage in the name of decluttering the roadside in road accident blackspots, should not happen - we’re very keen that safety-vital signage isn’t removed in the name of clutter," he said.

"The most contentious area is the removal of repeater speed limit signs. Drivers often do need to be reminded of the speed limit, particularly if the government is to be enforcing the limits more closely. Removing signage may make some drivers feel underinformed of the speed limit or even misled, if the signage of the speed limit isn’t enough."