335 road signs in eight-mile stretch

It is bringing a 'nightmare' of urban sprawl to once delightful villages.

Motoring groups and environmental campaigners have joined forces to urge the Government to rid rural lanes of unnecessary signs, speed-bumps, and other 'street furniture' that takes drivers' attention off the road.

The spread of signs is also proving an eyesore to country lovers by filling once idyllic rural roads with masses of painted warnings, chicanes, bumps, and 'build-outs' that are completely out of keeping with their surroundings.

Now the RAC Foundation and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England are demanding councils carry out 'clutter audits' of the road- signs in their area - and remove those which are unnecessary, dangerous or simply an eyesore.

An unofficial audit by the CPRE revealed that a seven mile stretch of the rural B3006 in Hampshire, which passes through an area of outstanding natural beauty and the designated South Downs National Park, has an astonishing 335 signs - an average of 48 per mile.

This includes 207 safety signs (such as 'bend ahead'), 44 directional signs, 11 brown tourist signs, 18 blue cycle signs, 18 commercial signs for hotels or attractions, and 30 road-edge reflector poles.

Campaigners have also highlighted 'before and after' images along the Clanfield Road, at Bampton in Oxfordshire, and a T-junction near Canterbury where signs now spoil the view.

RAC Foundation executive director Edmund King will highlight the problem when he speaks today at a conference on roadsigns hosted at Loughborough University by the Institution of Highway Incorporated Engineers.

Mr King said:' Signs that are clear, concise. relevant, reliable and timely can improve safety and reduce the number of drivers who get lost each day.

'But a clutter of contradictory signs not only detract from the beauty of the countryside, they lead to confusion that can result in collisions.'

Mr King also attacked 'appalling and dangerous' traffic calming schemes - from built-out pinch-points to chicanes.

'These are both a visual eyesore and highly questionable in terms of road safety.'

Mr King said that if traffic calming is judged necessary, traffic planners such turn to something more in keeping with the countryside heritage, and fit traditional cattle grids.'This would be an effective way of slowing down traffic without ruining the visual environment of small villages.'

CPRE chief executive Shaun Spiers said:'People simply aren't prepared to put up with our countryside being blighted for no good reason. 'Local authorities should think again about putting up unnecessary road signs and keep our countryside from becoming a nightmare of garish signs.'

Campaigners want the Government to follow the lead of the Scottish Executive in producing clear guidance about signs and road-bumps in rural areas.

Studies in the US suggest that up to 30 per cent of accidents have 'driver distraction' as a factor - and that in 1 in 3 cases this is from distractions outside the car.

Drivers are already struggling with the clutter of road signs in urban areas. One of the most notorious spots has been on a busy junction of the A3 in New Malden, South West London, where drivers have had to contend with 19 different road signs giving 10 different instructions.

Research says that since the modern system of signage was introduced in 1968, the number of signs in the Highway Code has increased by 44 per cent.