Cabinet agree to make it easier to understand how road safety signs are used
Councillors have agreed to adopt a new policy which sets out how Lancashire County Council uses temporary road safety signs to support police enforcement of speed limits, and educate drivers about the dangers of speeding.
A report to the council's cabinet, which met on Thursday 11 July, outlined guidance on how its road safety team deploy signs which flash-up drivers' speed, large electronic message boards which display advice and warnings, and smaller educational signs which can be attached to street furniture such as lampposts.
The guidance sets out how the council assesses speeding concerns, and the criteria used to decide what measure to take, depending on the level of risk highlighted. Councillors agreed to adopt the guidance as policy.
County Councillor Rupert Swarbrick, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "People should always report incidents of excessive speed or dangerous and inconsiderate driving to the police, who are responsible for enforcing speed limits, and dealing with incidents on our roads.
"As the highway authority for Lancashire, the county council also has a role in making our roads safer by educating drivers about speeding.
"One of our key tools is the use of temporary signs to highlight known issues and complement police enforcement where an assessment has shown there is a problem, which have been shown to be an effective way of influencing driver behaviour.
"Adopting this guidance as policy will aid transparency about the circumstances where we use these signs, and help people better understand the county council's role in managing speeding issues."
You can see the report on the agenda to cabinet here (item 15)