Councils Urged to Adopt New Road Signage

Local Authorities Urged to Adopt New Road Signage as Motorcycle Fatalities Rise in the UK

• TWM Traffic Control Systems has launched new crash site signage providing a safety alert to motorists indicating a known hazardous area
• New signage has been launched as the latest statistics from the Department of Transport reveal that motorcycle fatalities have risen YOY
• TWM encourages local authorities to review the signage around motorcycle crash hotspots following the latest findings

The UK’s most innovative traffic control systems specialist, TWM, launched a new crash site hazard warning sign yesterday, as it’s revealed that motorcycle fatalities rose again in 2018.

According to new statistics, revealed at the beginning of October by the Department of Transport, 354 motorcycle fatalities were recorded during 2018, an increase from 2017.

More than 16,000 serious or slight accidents involving motorcycles were recorded across the UK, the highest for any form of transport.

TWM, who specialize in designing, manufacturing and installing innovative traffic control systems have now launched an interactive sign designed to be situated in locations that are renowned for vehicle incidents and speeding vehicles, with a particular focus on speeding motorcyclists.

The new product launch coincides with the new findings from the Department of Transport revealing that out of 1,572 accidents cause by road environment conditions, 228 occurred due to inadequate or masked signs or road markings or the layout of the road, including a tight bend and a blind corner.

The new hazard warning sign from TWM is radar activated and will alert any type of vehicle of the potential hazard. For a motorcyclist approaching at a speed which is over the set threshold, the striking blue LED border highlighting the large black on white reflective “THINK” motorcyclist symbol will illuminate, along with the white LED text reading “BACK OFF”.

It is estimated that there is an increase of 20 road accidents each day when the clocks go back*, with three quarters of the extra collisions occurring in the afternoons.

To combat this, TWM has a range of products which can assist and alert drivers, including the new Multi-colour DSD Speed Display Sign’, which displays a real-time illustration of the approaching speed of an oncoming vehicle, when exceeding a pre-set speed threshold limit. Other products include a vehicle activated speed control sign manufactured to mirror the regulatory maximum speed limit sign and LED illuminated chevrons designed to give drivers clear visual guidance when approaching sharp bends.

The new statistics from the Department of Transport reveal the areas in the UK that see the most motorcycle accidents. London topped the list with 5,126 accidents, followed by the South East (2,768) and South West (1,475) and Lancashire was the county with the most motorcycle accidents with 288 during 2018.