Just another example of the British decline into a backwards nation.
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Drivers baffled by road signs
David Ward
Tuesday March 22, 2005
The Guardian It's a mistake anyone could make, especially if they have not glanced at the Highway Code since passing their driving test years ago.
The windsock sign is supposed to indicate side winds affecting a road, but it seems perfectly logical to interpret it as friendly information about a kite-flying area.
And the wonky car with squiggly lines may actually warn of a slippery road but could also easily indicate the presence of drunken drivers.
These explanations were given during a survey of 1,500 British motorists conducted to mark the 70th anniversary of the driving test. The results reveal that many drivers are baffled by signs common on the nation's streets.
Prudential Car Insurance found that 57% of those questioned could not interpret signs properly, with one in four admitting they were likely to ignore the only signs they know well - those indicating speed limits.
"Perhaps most worrying of all, during a fortnight of persistent snowfall and icy temperatures across the UK, only one in two drivers recognised the meaning of the road sign that warns of a 'risk of ice' on the road ahead," says the survey report.
The rest probably thought it warned of a conference of lace doily manufacturers.
"One of the reasons ... may be that only 3% of those surveyed confirmed that they have regularly referred to the Highway Code since passing their driving test," continued the report. "In fact over 50% admitted that they have not looked at the Highway Code since the day they passed."
One positive outcome was that 40% of drivers agreed that they would drive more carefully if naked roads - those with no signs, traffic lights, road markings or kerbs - became common. A third claimed they would also drive more slowly.
Helpful tip: the sign with an electric current passing between two blocks and causing a square-section rod to leap in the air is in fact a warning of an opening or swing bridge.
