Wise words put county in Pole position

23 February 2007

Cheshire County Council has erected eight road signs in Polish to address traffic and road safety problems caused by a number of Polish drivers failing to understand diversion signs.
Located on the A49, near Whitchurch, on the Cheshire-Shropshire border, the signs are intended to help Polish drivers who have a limited knowledge of English. The council says many of the 3,000 Poles living in the Crewe area work at local companies, and Polish lorry drivers often use Cheshire’s A-roads as a shortcut from the M6.
‘Many of them fail to understand diversion signs and they are arriving at sections of major roads that we had closed off,’ said county engineer, Steve Kent. ‘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, past a work gang, which obviously has safety implications for both pedestrians and the workers.’
In response to criticism from Tory MP Philip Davies, he said: ‘These signs have absolutely nothing to do with political correctness. ‘In fact, they are a common sense and practical answer to traffic problems caused by a language barrier.’ He acknowledged that Poles were not the only non-English-speaking drivers using the roads, but said ‘it would not be practical to start writing signs in every conceivable language’.
Welcoming the move, John Smart, director of technical affairs works at the Institution of Highways & Transportation, said: ‘Having listened to the debate, it seemed to me a sensible idea. As far as I am concerned, the local authorities have reacted in a positive way to a real, localised problem, and I have to commend them for that. ‘When UK drivers go abroad, signs are in English as well, so where appropriate, I can’t see any reason for us to adopt similar schemes, if it helps promote safety on the roads.’ The initiative also received support from Gwyneth Dunwoody, chair of the transport select committee, who said: ‘The county council has a responsibility to ensure the safety of motorists, and I am grateful we have an authority in Cheshire with the common sense to put safety before bureaucracy.’

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Wise words put county in Pole position

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