Anger at 20mph signs with child’s cartoon dragon
PEOPLE are getting very angry about speed limit signs which include a picture of a dragon, drawn by a child. The images, used outside Welsh schools show a dragon marking out a “20” logo.
The default national speed limit in Wales was lowered from 30mph to 20mph last September. A teenager, Noa Williams, won a national competition to design a sign to place near schools.
The dragon signs were offered to councils to use on an optional, supplementary basis as part of the 20mph default speed change. Guidance produced at the time explains that the role of the signs is to warn drivers of the presence of schools but, because the default speed limit is now 20mph, it is not informing drivers of a speed change.
The Welsh Government guidance states: “It has been decided that to continue highlighting the presence of schools and/or their proximity to a traffic calmed area, a new supplementary associated plate will be introduced.
“A child’s drawing has been selected in a competition organised with the help of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and this will be available for traffic authorities to use if they so wish.”
The Daily Mail has run a story about the signs, saying families say they “make road safety worse rather than better”. It quotes social media users as being “furious”.
“A new dragon-themed 20mph speed limit sign put up outside schools in Wales has been branded ‘dangerous’ by furious families who say the design cannot be read,” it said in a news article. “Campaigners argue that these kind of signs, which were designed by schoolboy Noa Williams and have been installed close to schools across Wales, are dangerous and liable to make road safety worse rather than better.”
Another social media commentator, Ian Haskell, said of the new dragon-style signs: ‘Yet more money being wasted by the idiots in control’.
Paul Evans asked: ‘Could you contest that the 20 is not easy to understand as it’s not clear?’ Peter Campbell Davies said he could not see the point in putting up a speed limit sign that was not immediately clearly visible, calling the move ‘ridiculous.’
Maria Pitten said “I think it’s dangerous as it isn’t immediately obvious what it is saying so you need to really look at it. Just what you need around schools.” Peter Ayton wrote: “Are they just trying to catch car drivers? You could not make this up!”
Adrian Phillips said: “The dragon 20mph sign was not just revoltingly twee but also hard to detect by automatic systems. This plus the removal of repeater signs made for a speed camera bonanza”.
However, others have pointed out that drivers should be driving at 20mph anyway. Sue Francis wrote: “How about using your sodding brain and slowing down without being told to do so by a sign?”
Jon Wilkins, a partner at Reeds Solicitors in Cardiff, said: “New dragon themed speed limit signs have appeared outside Welsh schools purporting to depict a dragon displaying Mark Drakeford’s controversial blanket 20mph speed limit in Wales.
“The speeding signs, designed by a schoolboy who won £250 in a competition to design the signage, have been approved by both the Welsh Government and Road Safety Wales. Despite this the approval, the speeding signs are difficult to understand at first glance and are confusing for the motorist. Any speed limit sign must be clear to understand and unambiguous in displaying the speed limit.
“Speed limit signs must be in accordance with specific designs prescribed in law. Any sign which is not in accordance with the regulations and the applicable road traffic law would potentially allow a speeding motorist a legal argument that the speeding signage was not clear. This could hinder prosecuting speeding motorists and enforcing the speed limit.
“Given that motorists already face the confusion of whether a particular stretch of road is now a default 20mph zone in Wales, Dragon themed signs outside our schools have the real potential to compromise the safety of Welsh schoolchildren in adding to this confusion.”
The Welsh Government’s new transport minister, Ken Skates, has now announced details of a threestage plan to review the scheme. He has denied it is a U-turn, saying it is refining the existing policy. The changes he has put forward will cost an estimated £3m to £5m.
The dragon signs were unveiled across Wales after a competition was held for schoolchildren to contribute to the design. The pupil, from Ysgol Ardudwy, in Gwynedd, was invited to the Senedd, where he received his prize and an image of the final plan.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The Cabinet Secretary recognises the need to listen and learn from citizens. The use of this particular image to promote safer speeds is part of the listening exercise being undertaken by the Welsh Government.
“In the meantime, it is for local highway authorities to determine whether the use of this particular sign is appropriate. It is not designed as an alternative to formal speed limit signs and the use of it is a matter for councils.”