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Signs of the times - how Polish drivers are kept on track in Cheshire
Last updated at 20:52pm on 15.02.07As if road works were not bad enough, drivers in Cheshire have a new hazard to contend with - road signs in Polish.
They have been put up to prevent immigrants who cannot speak English from getting lost in a diversion.
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Signs of madness: The sign in the foreground reads 'DIVERSION A49 for Whitchurch and nearby places'
Cheshire County Council claim the eight temporary signs are needed because there are large Polish populations in Crewe and Whitchurch, in neighbouring Shropshire, following the 2004 expansion of the EU.
They said that police had received numerous complaints of Polish drivers getting lost and causing traffic mayhem. But residents have condemned the council for pandering to political correctness.
Paul Walker, 55, spotted these signs on the A49 in the Cheshire village of Ridley.
"I'm not a racist or against Polish people in any way," he said.
"But it struck me as the most ludicrous example of political correctness I've ever come across.
"How can anyone justify spending taxpayers' money on this?"
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Sign of the times: This Polish road sign translates as 'For A49 to Whitchurch turn right at next junction
Tory MP Philip Davies added: "It's absolutely bonkers, but what worries me is that once one council starts, others follow."
Even officials at the Polish Association in London could not see the point of the signs. "It seems very strange, I can't imagine why they are needed," a spokesman said.
Council engineers defended the signs, saying they were paid for by the contractor and not the taxpayer. Steve Kent, highway engineer for Cheshire County Council, said: "These signs have absolutely nothing to do with political correctness. It is a practical and commonsense approach to a problem.
"On several occasions last year, we found that Polish-speaking drivers were failing to understand diversion signs and were arriving at sections of major roads that we had closed off. In some cases, that caused congestion as we had to reverse them out of the area.
"In other cases, they would drive on the footpath and thunder past a work gang, which obviously has safety implications."
Up to 265,000 Poles have come to Britain legally in the last two years, prompting the launch of several services aimed specifically at them.
On Wednesday, Yorkshire Bank became the first in Britain to launch a telephone service in Polish.
Lloyds TSB has already opened its first Polish branch in Manchester.
And last month, signs written in Polish advertising NatWest's new bank account aimed at migrant workers sprang up on hoardings across the country.
Reader views (15)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
On the one hand I'm glad to see distances in metres on British road signs and given that everybody educated in the UK under the age of 40 (and a fair few over 40 too I'd guess) was taught metric at school this shouldn't be a problem. I do agree though that putting up signs in Polish isn't right. That said I also think that many dual-language signs in Wales are unnecessary... "100 yards/100 llath" would be "100 metres" in either language!
- Alex Bailey, Corby
If it prevents accidents and saves lives go with it.
It's no more stupid than the signs one sees in France and Holland (in English) reminding stupid English drivers to drive on the right!
- Gaz, London
Although it may seem a bit strange having Polish signs in the UK, what if you were in Poland and did not understand the Polish signs and needed signs in English?
I do not mind the Polish signs, but why is it that we still cannot have metric measurements on the English signs, but we can on Polish signs? We should have metric on all signs, that would certainly help everyone by having just one system of measurement on our roads and elsewhere.
There should be metres and km on all UK roadsigns asap, as the Irish have done with theirs, and speed limits revised to km/h values.
- David, London, UK
24°c
