Sat-nav signal tells drivers to get lost

30 August 2007

The sign is intended to encourage HGV drivers to disregard theri Sat Navs

The Welsh Assembly has approved a local traffic authority- designed road sign to combat the problem of satellite navigation system-guided HGVs using inappropriate routes.

Vale of Glamorgan Council, having received dozens of complaints, has designed a pictorial sign to advise truck drivers to disregard their sat navs at a junction of the A48. The sign is an alternative to English and Welsh language signs conveying the message that particular routes are unsuitable for HGVs.

Mark Simpson, Vale of Glamorgan senior traffic engineer, who designed the sign, said: ‘The written signs, which we’ve installed to protect minor routes to 12 communities, have not been understood by lorry drivers from abroad.

The sign’s effectiveness will be assessed after 12 months, primarily by considering whether complaints from residents of St Hilary have fallen. Other authorities are watching with interest. Carmarthenshire has received a similar level of complaints about HGVs using inappropriate minor roads.

A Department for Transport survey last year identified similar problems across the country. Mapping companies are developing a new generation of satellite navigation systems that do not simply advise on the quickest route from A to B, but differentiate between routes as being suitable for either light or heavy vehicles. But the problem is collating the information. One system has recently gone on sale providing information on rail bridge heights. Many local highway authorities still hold data on bridge heights and widths and road weight restrictions apply in paper files.

Simpson added: ‘This is a national problem, but it will take time to resolve, so we’ve come up with a local solution.’

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Sat-nav signal tells drivers to get lost

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