Road signs leading way to confusion (From Echo)

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Road signs leading way to confusion

8:00am Saturday 4th June 2011 in Basildon By FAYE DICKSON

A badly faded one-way sign gives no clue in Church Park Road, Pitsea

WE take them for granted and they are part and parcel of our road system.

But do our road signs really make our journeys any easier?

One driving instructor has launched a campaign to shun the signs he believes are incorrect and could be dangerous for motorists.

Tariq Musaji began to notice errors in the way road signs were displayed as he drove around the county with his pupils.

He has identified and photographed at least a dozen signs, which are inconsistent with driving manuals, and is now inviting people to add their own to his campaign.

Mr Musaji, 42, of London Road, Billericay, said: “I’ve been really shocked at the number of mistakes I’ve found.

“Traffic signs and road markings play a vital role in directing, informing and controlling road users’ behaviour.

“I am surprised that for years nobody has done anything to correct these potentially dangerous anomalies.”

A sign in Bramston Way, Basildon, for example, incorrectly tells motorists a mini-roundabout is ahead when in fact it is a full roundabout.

Motorists approaching the same roundabout from Buxton Link are correctly told it is a full roundabout.

Signs in High Road North, Laindon, tell traffic coming from both directions to give way to oncoming vehicles, therefore giving neither way priority.

Mr Musaji, who runs Wickford-based Farrah Driver Training, has also noticed some signs are dangerously damaged and others are so poorly maintained it is difficult to make out what they are saying.

He said: “A one-way sign in Church Park Road, Pitsea, is badly faded and has definitely seen better days.

“There are drivers with poor eyesight who might not be able to make out the exact wordings underneath the road sign and this sign is in dire need of replacement.”

Mr Musaji expects his website will lead to some “red faces” at Essex County Council, because public money has been wasted putting signs up incorrectly.

Before setting up his website, he reported his findings to the authority in March, but received no response and has not seen anything done to correct the errors.

He used guidelines set out in the police driving manual Roadcraft, the Highway Code and the Traffic Signs manual to correctly identify the mistakes.

Mr Musaji said: “The driving theory test is a key part of the driving test, but if pupils are learning about the signs, then finding they're not displayed that way on the road, they can't put their knowledge into action.”

The website can be found at www.essexroadsigns.org

Comments(5)

Shattered says...
2:51pm Sat 4 Jun 11

There are a lot of road signs that sorting out, the worst ones are on A & B roads, that are opstucked by trees and bush's. Some you cannot see at all, others you catch a glimps at the last minuet, when it is to late to change lanes safely. Even with a sat-nav it is difficult in a strange town. The first time I went into Bristol, I went round in circles even with a town plan & a sat-nav, this was mainly down to road changes that were not on the sign posts. That cost an hour & half driveing time that made me late for my next pick up in Tiegnmouth. I was only doing this for a charity, so driveing hours to me were not that important as I was going to stay overnight anyway, but I can understand how hard it can be for full time delivery drivers have to use exceeding speed limits to get their daily deliverys done. This does not excuse them for speeding, as in previous articals and comments, We are all under the same driveing laws, and nobody is above the law.