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Motorway warning signs!

(16 Posts)
Nonnie Wed 09-Apr-14 12:42:24

Does anyone else get irritated by these? Yesterday we saw them telling us to slow down because there was an obstruction in the road, yes for several miles. No, there wasn't! Then we were told there was a queue ahead and told to slow to 40, then 60, then 40 and eventually, again after several miles, we got to the queue and I wondered why we needed to be warned about something which would become so obvious when we got to it.

A few miles further and we were warned about an accident and had to slow down again but the accident was all on the hard shoulder and didn't affect the traffic at all.

If we have to put up with these why aren't they a lot nearer to the incident in question?

If any of you have experience of working for whichever department I would love to hear the reasons why.

tiggypiro Wed 09-Apr-14 13:00:30

They annoy me too. The trouble is that as they are so often no longer relevant that no notice is taken of them and then comes the time when the message is true and important.
I think I read somewhere that the pointless signs telling us to check fuel levels etc are being stopped as they distract drivers. How long did it take for some bright spark to work that one out !
It is the same when speed limits are put in place for roadworks (which is fine), the roadworks are cleared but the speed restrictions are still there.

tanith Wed 09-Apr-14 16:16:40

Sorry I don't agree with you , speed and distances on motorways are deceiving the more notice of 'danger' the better . Accidents even if they appear to be on the hard shoulder are very prone to rubberneckers which cause bottlenecks and are very dangerous and prone to causing further collisions.
Surely its worth annoying a few people by having warnings in place that may appear to some over cautious rather than the alternative possible accidents. It just means slowing down in some cases and being 'aware'.

merlotgran Wed 09-Apr-14 16:31:31

We often call them our 'laugh like a drain' moments. When you've been held up in standing traffic for over an hour staring at a sign telling you not to drink and drive or the fifty miles an hour sign flashes up when you'd love to be doing something, anything faster than a walking pace.

The trouble with advance warning of long queues is that DH starts telling me to go off at the next junction even though it takes us miles out of our way to get back on again whereas I would rather take a chance on the accident being cleared or a diversion put in place.

Nonnie Wed 09-Apr-14 16:33:30

tanith do you think we should have miles and miles of warnings before these things? I agree with tiggy there are so many of them for no reason that people are bound to ignore them. If they were only there for genuine reasons and not 20 minutes before you got to the incident people would take notice.

tanith Wed 09-Apr-14 16:54:44

Sorry Nonnie but yes I do, rather a warning that has been left on after the incident is resolved than no warning and people ignoring warnings at their peril.

goldengirl Wed 09-Apr-14 17:29:56

Our beloved local council has erected digital (?) signs which are rarely in use and when they are they tell you either about something umpteen miles away or remind us not to drink and drive. What a waste if money!

goldengirl Wed 09-Apr-14 17:30:44

Oh yes and these wonderful edifices are not on a motorway but our 'normal' roads!

Ana Wed 09-Apr-14 18:08:35

Those 'Don't Drink and Drive' ones really irk me! As if we're all planning to break our journey for a few stiff ones before carrying on our merry way, having forgotten that a) it's against the law and b) it's grossly irresponsible. And the warning's too late for any who have already done it!

FlicketyB Thu 10-Apr-14 18:04:17

The one that really irritates me is the one that says 'Take your litter Home. It is what other people do'

I might (and indeed do) take my litter home for all kinds of reasons, but not because 'it is what other people do'. Isn't that the excuse offered by many Nazis for atrocities committed during WW2?

rosequartz Thu 10-Apr-14 19:06:07

What if it's biodegradable, like an apple core? I always think that's OK but apparently not!

FlicketyB Fri 11-Apr-14 20:52:16

The problem is that far too often the signs are crying 'wolf' and the event that led to them being turned on ended hours previously and somebody just forgot to turn them off.

The number of times I have slowed down to 60....50.....40. Tried to drive at 40 with traffic whizzing past me and 2 miles later the sign says 'end' and there is no sign of any event, roads are clean, nothing on any carriageway or the hard shoulder and nothing to explain what the cause of the problem was. if they want us to follow these signs

FlicketyB Fri 11-Apr-14 20:54:38

whoops posted too soon. Last message should read If they want us to follow these signs they should make sure that we do not get these false signs for hours after the event has ended.

Nonnie Sat 12-Apr-14 10:08:47

Totally agree with you Flick

Lilygran Sat 12-Apr-14 10:22:49

I once travelled 30 miles on the M1 watching out for 'workforce on carriageway'. Now I think there is someone with a misplaced sense of humour in the control centre since we have had the most bizarre warnings on that stretch of road. And no sign of debris, livestock, diversion.....someone is diverted and it isn't the drivers.

goldengirl Sat 12-Apr-14 17:15:41

Was on a motorway today and saw a sign advising me to be careful if I'm towing - I can't remember the exact words but purleeze......