More than half of drivers (57%) believe red ‘road ahead closed’ signs are ‘uninformative’ when trying to understand the details of road closures they are approaching, an RAC poll has found.
The findings concluded that the red and white ‘road ahead closed’ signs are missing key details.
Of those who find the signs uninformative, the most common reasons for confusion were that they do not state which road is closed (60%), or how far ahead the road is closed (56%).
Meanwhile, 15% do not trust that the signage is up to date.
In light of the widespread confusion, 93% of all drivers who responded to the survey would be in favour of councils and their contractors providing more information about where closures are.
Despite the fact that ignoring traffic signs can lead to fines, only 30% of drivers surveyed by the RAC said they always follow yellow diversion signs after seeing red ‘road ahead closed’ signs.
Looking at why drivers do not follow diversions, seven-in-10 (70%) said they rely on their own local knowledge to find a better alternative, while 58% worry the diversion will take them miles out of their way and just over half (52%) state that they just follow their sat-nav.
Of those that do not follow diversion signs, some drive on in the hope the closed road is not the one that they are currently on (34%), while others prefer to drive as far as possible to take another road off before reaching the closure (25%).
Simon Williams, head of policy at RAC, said: “Our research with drivers reveals very clearly that, as things stand, ‘road ahead closed’ signs are not fit for purpose.
“Simply stating ‘road ahead closed’ is too vague as it doesn’t give drivers enough information about the closures they’re approaching and is causing a lack of trust.
“Our findings also show that in many cases drivers aren’t taking official diversion routes, which could cause issues in terms of traffic flow and potentially lead to dangerous situations around essential maintenance works.
“Sat-navs can be useful for finding alternative routes, but they don’t get everything right and sometimes won’t pick up emergency closures.
“Drivers ought to be able to trust the signs they are supposed to follow, and it wouldn’t take a lot of effort to improve them.
“By including key information, such as which road is closed, and ideally for how long, drivers would surely have more trust in the signage and be less likely to ignore official advice.”
