Alarming number of drivers lack road sign knowledge

A THIRD OF DRIVERS in the UK do not know even the most basic road signs such as the National Speed Limit and Slippery Road warnings.

This is the finding of a survey by More Than, which found that 34% of drivers in the UK did not know what the National Speed Limit sign was. The Slippery Road sign was misunderstood by one in seven drivers as meaning ‘paint on the road.’

With research conducted alongside 29 police forces, the survey found 20% of UK drivers had received penalty points for speeding in the past 10 years. A contributory factor to this is drivers not knowing what the legal speed limit is on a road due to not understanding some of the most basic road signs.

Janet Connor of More Than said: ‘This research shows that there's a worrying number of drivers for whom speeding is an acceptable everyday behaviour. Couple this with shocking ignorance when it comes to the most common road signs which are designed to help ensure safe and responsible driving and you've got a recipe for road disaster.’

Road safety charity Brake’s Gary Rae added: ‘These are worrying findings. The research suggests a significant proportion of drivers seem to think it is okay to break the laws of the road. It can never be acceptable and we urge all drivers to respect road safety laws and recognise that such laws exist to help save lives.’

By Press Association reporters