The Department for Transport (DfT) has brought in rule changes to make it easier for local authorities to put up wildlife warning signs, as well as revising a hedgehog sign that it launched just five years ago.
Officials said the changes will ensure local authorities can place small wild animal warning signs where they are needed most rather than having to apply to the DfT on a case-by-case basis.
Transport secretary Mark Harper visited Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital to launch the sign.
He said: ‘These common sense changes will lead to more small animal signs across the country, cutting down on bureaucracy to help protect both drivers and small animals, improving safety on our roads and making sure fewer casualties are checked in to wildlife hospitals.’
In 2019 the then transport secretary, Chris Grayling, unveiled a new warning sign, which he said should help reduce the number of people killed and injured, ‘as well as helping our precious small wild mammal population to flourish’.
However, the DfT said the sign, known as 'Holly the hedgehog', will be updated ‘following feedback from the sector to make it clearer for drivers’. It said white quills had been added to the hedgehog’s back to improve clarity and make it more visible from a distance.
Writing on LinkedIn, Simon Morgan of Buchanan Computing said the old sign ‘wasn't particularly distinctive, and tended to reduce to a black blob when viewed from a distance’.
He added: ‘The new graphic is much improved with bolder and additional detail, making it recognisable and clear, as sign pictograms need to be.’
The old and new signs side by side
Buchanan Computing has released a download for its SignPlot software to enable users to design sign assemblies that use this new symbol.
The DfT said Mr Harper had written to ‘all local authorities in England’, informing them of the changes and where they can find the authorisation relevant to them.
The letter includes information 'to help authorities decide where the sign may be placed to give most benefit'.
