SIGNS OF THE TIMES
DO YOU KNOW THE TRAFFIC SIGNS FOR POTHOLES, LYCRA AND TEXTERS?
Potholes, cyclists and mobile phone texters are such a hazard to other road users their presence should be marked with warning signs, cabbies have said.
According to the Daily Express, they have even drawn up a wish-list of some of the new signs they would like to see.
Some are tongue-in-cheek, like the suggested warning: “Rickshaws clog- ging road.”
But few motorists would argue with the top choice, liked by 58 per cent of the 500 London black cab drivers quizzed. It shows a car crashing bonnet-first into a massive pothole with the message “Craters Ahead”.
It highlights a real problem. Latest fig- ures show Britain’s backlog of road repairs will take 12 years to clear.
Other popular signs include the “School run congestion zone” warning, a “Caution, Texters” alert and a picture of a manic dancer above the message: “Head- phone user may be lost in music”.
The cabbies also liked THE
the “Middle-aged men in Lycra zone” sign to warn of cyclists ahead. The list was created for a smart phone app company. Cabbies also want out-dated road signs, such as for horse- drawn vehicles, dropped. The Depart- ment for Transport said: “It is vital that signs give information road users need. They are reviewed to ensure they’re fit for pur- pose.” So on that basis the green light
has been given for the public to offer their
suggestions. Watch this (road) space!
If you have any suggestions for an amusing and topical road sign then please Tweet us: @PHTMNewspaper or comment on our Facebook page (see p.3). The most amusing will receive a bottle of bubbly.
BLINKING BOLLARDS STRIKE AGAIN IN CAMBRIDGE!!! Highways chiefs have
defended controver- sial bollards in Cambridge despite an increase in crashes involving two police cars, ten taxis, two buses and 22 cars. The city has nine ris- ing bollards and the number of vehicles in collision with the bar- riers has risen from eight in 2010 to 13 so far this year.
The damage caused has incurred a repair bill of £9,293 since 2010 when there were eight collisions fol- lowed by nine in 2011, ten last year and 13 during 2013. Twenty of the crashes happened when the bollard was rising, six when it was up, four when it was dropping,
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and there are ten occasions when it was not known in which position the bollard was, documents released to the Cam- bridge News have revealed.
Calls have now been made for ‘talking bol- lards’ to prevent further crashes. Cllr Rob Dryden, for- mer Cambridge mayor, said: “The only thing I could suggest on the bollards would be to fit an audio warn- ing alert system to warn drivers before they get to the bol- lards of the dangers if they are not autho- rised to go through.” One of the cars hit the Brookgate rising bol- lards on the guided busway at Cambridge
the bollards in 2002. But Cambridgeshire County Council high- ways chiefs defended the bollards.
Cllr Mac McGuire, the council’s deputy leader, said: “Rising bollards are a very effective and efficient way of keeping unau- thorised vehicles out of the middle of Cam- bridge.
A vehicle sitting on top of a bollard Picture courtesy The Cambridge News
rail station and knocked the top of the barrier off. In July a guided bus became the latest vehicle to suffer damage when it hit the bollard in Emmanuel Road. Legendary England
goalkeeper Gordon Banks and police patrol cars have previ- ously hit bollards there.
Mr Banks threatened to sue the council after his chauffeur-driven Mercedes fell foul of
“Considering the con- tinuing growth of traffic in and around Cambridge, I would suggest that the num- ber of incidents has been comparatively small and the colli- sions have invariably been caused by driv- ers either not noticing or ignoring the ample warning signs on the approaches to the bol-
lard controlled junc- tions.
“The barriers work automatically and were installed to close the route to through traffic except for authorised vehicles, which are issued with electronic tags to lower them.”
Mmmm… Now there’s a thing: “Calls have been made for ‘talking bollards’…” Exactly what would they say? The phrase “Up Yours” comes to mind… but that is entirely too rude, beg pardon. We’ve Googled all over the place, and cannot find any other towns or cities in the UK where they use talking bol- lards, to find out what they say to folk. Any suggestions? – Ed.
PHTM JANUARY 2014
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