Drivers demand new road signs to bring UK into line with USA rules

Entry and exit roads branching off a UK motorway as the Alliance of British Drivers called for additional warning signs to be fitted on all slip roads
-Credit: (Image: Liverpool Echo)


Drivers are demanding a new road sign to bring the UK into line with USA rules. Campaigners for UK motorists' rights are calling on transport chiefs to install an additional warning on exit slip roads to stop people going the wrong way.

The Alliance of British Drivers is urging the Labour Government to adopt the US rule of placing 'Wrong Way' signs halfway along each exit road, alerting anyone who has failed to spot the 'No Entry' sign when they first turn off the motorway or dual carriageway. Anyone going on the wrong side of the road could face an offence of driving without due care and attention, also known as careless driving, as well as causing a serious and potentially fatal accident if they meet oncoming vehicles.

Earlier this month, traffic police appealed for witnesses after a Ford S-Max was seen going the wrong way along the M40 slip road at junction 8A for Oxford Services. West Midlands Police records show that 65 people were given tickets for driving the wrong way on a slip road between 2018 and March 2021. And just days ago, it emerged that a driver in a fatal M6 smash was travelling on the wrong side of the road.

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The Alliance of British Drivers is asking the government to adopt the US policy of placing 'Wrong Way' signs halfway along each exit slip road, giving drivers a second chance to see they have made a major motoring error. It highlighted an example of such signs on the westbound exit slip on Interstate 70, eight miles north of Ellsworth, Kansas.

ABD chairman Bob Bull said: "The exact reason why a driver has headed the wrong way must be determined by the police if possible, but there can be no doubt that the provision of a second warning sign halfway along a slip road will reduce the likelihood of such incidents happening again.

"Where there are existing signs, such as advance warning of a give way junction or traffic lights, the 'Wrong Way' signs could be attached to those, meaning the cost of such signage would be minimal."

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