Obscured signage

[LukeBrown66]

I know this is something that must be way down the list of priority for a council.

But it is getting fairly crazy when some signs are almost completely obscured by branches, trees or just non cut verges.

Often they contain fairly mundane info I admit, but sometimes I have missed turnings in new locations or almost had an incident as I was really craning or trying to look at a very badly obscured sign.

And surely it would not be hard to clean them now and then? Some of them have not been cleaned for 20 or more years, and some are almost completely green!!

[Johnnytheboy]

Big problem these days is hedges that are cut by tractor-mounted flails.

They steer clear of signs, so you end up with a little bush growing up round the signs.

[jondude]

I seem to be spotting more and more signs with parts missing too - infuriating when you are in a new town, come up to a busy roundabout and then all the sign shows is one or two of the exits.

Maybe councils figure we are all using sat-navs, so sod us.

[Chrisgr31]

Locally the local volunteer litter picking team also cleans the roadsigns!

Not sure its the Council's job to get hedges etc that are obscuring signs is it? Isnt it the landowners responsibility?

[anonymous-user]

jondude said:

I seem to be spotting more and more signs with parts missing too

That'll probably be our Eastern European friends collecting for scrap.

Not as dangerous as collecting manhole covers, as they were doing a few years back around here.

[S2r]

Keeping hedges and the like from overhanging the publicly maintained highway is the responsibility of the hedge owner.

Round here if it's a problem then the owner is written to and told to cut it, if they don't then it's a flail for the hedge and a bill for the owner.

If you report it then it should get sorted (a bit like potholes).

[LukeBrown66]

My point about hedges was more of a slip of the word, I am talking about A roads and even roads in towns where the signage on the approach to a junction or roundabout is obscured by foliage on the roadside, usually not anyone's property or hedge. Or more so out in the sticks where signs are juts abandoned and never tended to for decades.

I would imagine if you REALLY needed to see the sign to know the way, you would have to slow down a fair bit to see it as you went past as you might only be able to read it fully roughly alongside, very dangerous and can mean unpredictable behaviour if you are behind and know the way.

Cant say I have noticed a lack of metalwork lol, but nothing would surprise me in that sense.

But have you seen the litter, on some roads it is truly despicable and rather embarrassing.

[grumpy52]

We had all sorts of niggling issues around my area a few years back .
Some hedges and verges got so overgrown that it was impossible to see out of junctions, reduced headclearance due to overgrown trees and and huge hedges . Roadways getting reduced width sections where they hadn't been maintained, so much that the centre line was more 2/3 -1/3 .
The authorities did the usual buck passing between parish,town, district and county council and highways England.
That was until someone got injured lawyers got involved then the area was suddenly a flurry of maintenance.

[ellroy]

My old man got nicked for speeding years back. His defence was that the signs were totally overgrown and obscured, which they were, I was in the car, didn’t wash at all with the magistrates however.

[Boosted LS1]

^ Back in the old days I'm sure the mags were a part of the community safety partnership or supported it. looks like they still are. How can they be impartial?

'Since then, the partnership has been operating in the whole of Nottinghamshire. Members now include: Nottinghamshire Police, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, The Highways Agency and Her Majesty's Court Services. In April 2007 the means of funding the Nottinghamshire Safety Camera Partnership changed'.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Saturday 3rd October 18:13

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Saturday 3rd October 18:24

[LukeBrown66]

This is my point grumpy and well made.

We all have to endure endless traffic lights in roadworks now to "protect the workforce," no doubt because of insurance.

Yet signage that a lot of people use still, or as you mention the vision out of junctions or round and through bends is obscured due to alleged budget cuts.

Well maybe councils should stop trying to invest money buying property and do their job?

Maybe they think EVERYNOE has a satnav so signs don't need to be maintained.