Taxi drivers have proposed 10 new road signs for Britain’s cities to warn against the modern-day urban hazards drivers face.
Black cab drivers today called for an overhaul of the “outdated” Highway Code notices to alert motorists to pedestrians oblivious to traffic because of modern-day distractions.
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Hundreds of London cabbies are backing the call for new signs which they say should include warning such as:
These Are The Road Signs London Taxi Drivers Want
Cabbies' suggestions include bans on wearing killer heels and relying on Google Maps while driving.
One in four cabbies surveyed said heavy headphone user areas should be flagged to warn drivers “of pedestrians who enter a trance-like state when lost in music.”
They have also identified 10 senseless signs they say should be scrapped such as warnings about horse-drawn vehicles and migratory toads on roads.
Taxi-booking mobile phone app Hailo, London’s largest network of drivers, enlisted 500 of its 13,500 drivers to identify the most confusing and outdated road signs which make up the Highway Code.
Drivers identified signs they want scrapped as outdated including “Car carrying explosives” which they say shouldn’t be allowed anyway, a level crossing without a gate or barrier (complete with out of date picture of a steam train) and a sign warning of ice. Cabbies say a sign cannot tell drivers what the weather is like.
Russell Hall, Hailo co-founder and cabbie, who carried out the research, said: “Cabbies have their finger on the pulse when it comes to road safety and city happenings. They are an authority on London’s streets - that’s why it’s important that we stop and take the time to reassess road safety and what works for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers alike to ensure we move with the times.
“The new road signs address modern day life - potholes are a common gripe of all drivers and something to be wary of on all UK roads.
“Similarly, much more attention needs to be paid to cyclists on the road.”
The advice follows a sudden spate of deaths on the capital's streets, with six fatal accidents in less than two weeks.
Last week Metropolitan Police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe said the recent death toll on the capital's streets was a "tragedy" and urged both cyclists are drivers to take care. Cyclists are "one wobble" from disaster, he said.