Yet more proof that motorway matrix signs are frequently wrong

Lum

So yesterday morning I was driving down the M4 from Wales towards London, and one of the matrix signs was flashing away, warning me:

50
PEDESTRIANS
IN ROAD

Obviously I proceeded with caution, and eventually came to the conclusion that this was a complete lie.

There were only two pedestrians!

scotsbob

The sign was correct.
The 50 was an indication of maximum speed, not the number of pedestrians.

Lum

scotsbob wrote: »

The sign was correct.
The 50 was an indication of maximum speed, not the number of pedestrians.

marlot

scotsbob wrote: »

The sign was correct.
The 50 was an indication of maximum speed, not the number of pedestrians.

....Gotcha!

Lum

For clarification. My OP was intended as a joke. I'm well aware of what the sign meant.

It's not actually a legal maximum, just an advisory, and for the record there were actually zero pedestrians, it just went straight to End with no danger on the motorway at all.

Steve059

Or "50: Queue Ahead". Yes, of course there is. Everyone's slowed down to 50mph. :mad:

I also like the signs that say, for example, "3 accidents in 5 years". Is it just me, or do you also think something like, "OK. That sounds like good odds"?

Joe_Horner

Did you superglue that kitten's paw in place yourself, Lum?

vikingaero

There's an interesting thread on Pistonheads where someone who works for the Highways Agency/Motorway Control Centre gives replies:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1327083&mid=0&i=0&nmt=%22Pedestrians+in+the+road%22+on+the+motorway%2C+does+anyone+care%3F&mid=0

A lot of the time it's due to vague information from callers and they have to be more cautious or their neck is on the line.

Lum

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Did you superglue that kitten's paw in place yourself, Lum?

No I used Google image search to look for "facepalm", scrolled down and found a kitten.

Lum

Steve059 wrote: »

I also like the signs that say, for example, "3 accidents in 5 years". Is it just me, or do you also think something like, "OK. That sounds like good odds"?

That is an example of a road sign that is so overused it has lost all it's impact.

You used to only see them in extreme cases, "357 accidents in 3 years" has impact and makes people think that, perhaps maybe they should be extra cautious.

Accidents go down, local councils decide that this type of sign clearly works and should be used more often as a result, and then you end up with signs like "2 accidents since the invention of the internal combustion engine".

People laugh at them, then they get used to them and then they start ignoring that type of sign completely, even the ones that say "50 deaths last month alone".

Same thing happened with the flashing speed activated ones.

mcja

Lum wrote: »

So yesterday morning I was driving down the M4 from Wales towards London, and one of the matrix signs was flashing away, warning me:

50
PEDESTRIANS
IN ROAD

Obviously I proceeded with caution, and eventually came to the conclusion that this was a complete lie.

There were only two pedestrians!

Think they must have been testing the road signs then!! Me and the kids saw the same sign on the M32 towards M4 last weekend..cue a chat about how dangerous it was, but no peeps!