This article from the newsfeeds tells how drivers in Rochdale are ignoring a No Entry sign. It’s a local story, and no big deal otherwise.
However, the part that really confuses me is this:
A police spokesman said: “Some drivers may be confused, as this is a European Union standard sign and not the usual ‘red circle with white bar’ No Entry we all know from the Highway Code.
“However, ignorance of the law is still no excuse, the signage is legal and enforceable…”
Various questions spring to mind. Like, why are signs which aren’t in the Highway Code being used? And, what the hell IS an EU No Entry sign? Or, how can it be enforceable if no one knows what it means due to the absence of any British instructions on how to use it?
The simple fact is that a No Entry sign is a No Entry sign. The only differences will be in the size and associated wording, and Rochdale police are not just barking up the wrong tree – they’re in the wrong bloody forest!.
If you look it up, the No Entry sign we all know is actually standard across the world (well, most of it). Wikipedia explains:
The abstract ‘No Entry’ sign was officially adopted to standardization at the League of Nations convention in Geneva in 1931. The sign was adapted from Swiss usage. The Swiss, in turn, adopted the practice of former European states that marked their boundaries with their formal shields and, when not wishing visitors to enter, would indicate so by tying a blood-red ribbon horizontally around the shield.[citation needed] The sign is also known as C1, from its definition in the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
The European ‘No Entry’ sign was adopted into North American uniform signage in the 1970s, replacing its rectangular, white “Do Not Enter” sign, although the U.S. version retains the wording “Do Not Enter” where the European and Canadian version typically has no wording on it.
So, it would appear that Rochdale’s police are making this far more complicated than it really is due to their own lack of understanding. If whatever sign is being used there doesn’t consist of a red circle with a white bar in the middle, then surely it is not a valid sign after all, and motorists would have a sound argument if they challenged any charges against them.
Unfortunately, Rochdale Online doesn’t appear to run to being able to afford a photographer, so the offending motorists and signs cannot be seen.
It would appear that the correct signs are going to be installed shortly. I wonder what idiot put the wrong ones in – if, indeed, they’re actually wrong at all?