One in five drivers experience near miss as UK drivers cannot read road signs

Study shows shocking amount of motorists are putting themselves and others at risk

One in five drivers experience near miss as UK drivers cannot read road signs
Among those surveyed, most did not know that signs are shaped to signify warnings, orders or to inform the driver. Image: Bigstock.

In a recent article by the Daily Mail, a study commissioned by Accident Advice Helpline found that three quarters of drivers cannot identify the meaning of all the road signs in the Highway Code.

Most adults didn’t know that there are three types of road signs, giving orders, warning people and informing, and that these types are all signified by different shapes; sixty per cent did not know that a road sign in a blue circle meant that it was giving an order.

Shockingly, 16 per cent of drivers under the age of 24 thought it signified a restriction zone.

“It was surprising to see how many drivers were unaware of the significance of the shape of a sign, let alone it’s meaning,” said David Carter, spokesman for Accident Advice Helpline.

“Understanding road signs are vital to road safety and not knowing their meaning can result in accidents due to ignorance.”

Risking lives

An appalling 43 per cent misunderstood the sign for no motor vehicles, believing it was to show way for cars and motorbikes only whereas one in four admit that there are some signs which they actively ignore; a tenth of those surveyed disregard speed limit signs.

Eight per cent confessed to ignoring loading zones while six per cent disregarded parking restrictions.

Motorists are not only risking expensive fines but are also willing to risk their safety as Accident Advice Helpline found that one in twenty have been in an accident because they or the other driver did not understand a road sign and a fifth said that they had experienced a near miss for the same reason.

Have you experienced a collision or near miss due to someone else’s ignorance? Do you know all of the road signs? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Have your say!

1 0

Lost Password

Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.