Enter the matrix

Have you ever wondered what those matrix road signs are for? These days they all say “Plan ahead. Stay safe. S ave lives ”( apart from one near Eilean Donan saying “United against suicide”).

Well, we did just that, i.e. planned ahead, followed advice from the First Minister to take a holiday at home and booked a cottage on the Isle of Skye.

We didn’t get further than Kyle of Loch alsh before we had to make a U-turn and return home as we were one household and two people too many. Wish we hadn’t planned ahead!

We got as far as Abingdon Saturday morning when the traffic really snarled up, all cars slowed down and this caused some erratic dangerous driving from quite a few frustrated drivers.

At Beattock, a long time later, we finally managed to overtake two massive lorries with big boilers straddling two lanes on the M74 followed by several convey vehicles and police cars. I cannot believe they hadn’t planned this journey ahead and couldn’t they have informed us to make us safer?

I am sure when the authorities went to the big expense to install these matrix signs they were meant to inform and alert drivers to improve road safety. However, these days they are used for irrelevant

words and they distract rather then inform drivers of potential road hazards and risks.

So a couple of questions remain :1) Could somebody please tell me what the matrix road signs are intended for? and 2) What do those vacuous words Plan ahead really mean and who do they apply to? In the meantime I will just stay alert.

TOVE ILLING Congleton, Cheshire