Drivers overloaded with information
16 February 2006
- Too many road signs confront drivers
- Radio and satellite-navigation add to confusion
- Call for review of siting and number of road signs
A confusing mass of road signs is overloading motorists with information and causing accidents, says the RAC Foundation.
Speaking at the Institute of Highways and Transport conference today, Foundation chief executive Edmund King says a complete re-evaluation of road signs is needed to improve road safety.
King says that motorists are often confronted with too many signs, and are further confused by radios and satellite-navigation systems. The danger is that they may crash as they try to process all the information.
He adds that motorists can only expect to cope with between three and seven pieces of information at a time, and instinctively recognise this because they turn down radios when they need to concentrate.
King's College psychiatrist Glenn Wilson claims that confusion levels can be on a par with someone who has smoked marijuana or missed a night's sleep. Men are also twice as likely to become distracted by 'sign overload' than women.
Edmund King will suggest at the conference that local authorities need to review the location and number of road signs, relocate signs to give motorists more time to react to them, and ensure that signs are kept unobscured by dirt or foliage.
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