{"id":2458,"date":"2010-04-14T15:54:39","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T15:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=2458"},"modified":"2010-04-14T15:54:39","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T15:54:39","slug":"large-sign-lettering-for-old-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=2458","title":{"rendered":"Large Sign Lettering For Old Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had to check that it wasn’t April 1st again when I saw this in the Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The RAC has said in a report that:<\/p>\n

…more than half of people aged over 70 in Britain currently holds a driving licence and the number of elderly drivers will increase over the coming decade. <\/p>\n

…The Foundation says larger lettering should be used on safety-critical signs including directions, and those telling motorists to stop and give way, so that elderly motorists can read them more easily. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OK. So what we’re saying is that\u00a0the solution to older drivers and their failing faculties is… encourage them to drive by making signs and road markings bigger? How very eco-friendly. How safe<\/em> for everyone else.<\/p>\n

\"Hollywood\"

Hollywood<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s funny, but on a Pass Plus lesson last week I started thinking how large the signs and lettering are on motorway signs.<\/p>\n

But it appears that a 1 metre high letter ‘A’ isn’t big enough for someone who has failing eyesight, if the RAC is to be believed.<\/p>\n

So how big should<\/em> the letters\u00a0be? Two metres? Twenty? Perhaps the answer the RAC is looking for lies across the pond? Can you imagine huge letters mounted in fields and on hillsides?<\/p>\n

Somehow, “Accrington” and “Milton Keynes” don’t have the same ring as “Hollywood”. But the report goes on to say:<\/p>\n

Fatal accidents involving older drivers generally occur in daylight<\/strong>, at junctions and at low speeds<\/strong>. Interacting with other traffic at junctions is the main risk for older drivers<\/strong>, particularly when turning right across traffic. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m sorry, but this is laughable – or would be if it wasn’t so sad. The automatic conclusion to be drawn is not<\/em> larger road signs.<\/p>\n

If they want to increase the lettering size for everyone, that’s a different matter. But just increasing it for people who can’t see… I’m sorry, but someone somewhere isn’t thinking straight.<\/p>\n

How<\/em> people drive is what counts (whether through age or something else). An older person unable to negotiate junctions at low speed is as bad – if not worse – than a chav doing it at high speed. Especially if it kills someone.<\/p>\n

EDIT 15\/04\/2010:<\/strong>\u00a0 As if to prove what the real<\/em> problem is, I was driving along the A453 today – near to the Crusader island – where it’s a 40mph limit with busy, but free-flowing, traffic. A silver VW Polo (reg. no. FL09 BXK)\u00a0pulled out from the petrol station to turn right, right in front of me and\u00a0into a gap that was the safe limit for me. He forced me to brake sharply – a lot of other people wouldn’t have reacted in time. Half a mile later he stopped – again, in the free-flowing traffic –\u00a0to flash someone to turn into the Trent University campus. And yes, it was an old driver. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had to check that it wasn’t April 1st again when I saw this in the Telegraph. The RAC has said in a report that: …more than half of people aged over 70 in Britain currently holds a driving licence and the number of elderly drivers will increase over the coming decade. …The Foundation says […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latestposts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t