Collapsible Road Signs

The Sisco Kid

Sounds like a sensible idea...

From BBC website..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4587629.stm

BrianD

They are already in use on the M7 south of Exit 10. The NRA seem to have a policy of putting barriers around other signs on the older part of the M7.

Victor

That sign looks like it's from "The Matrix"

I've seen some collapsable (more hinged) light poles, but presumed they were for maintainence, i.e. lower pole, replace lamp raise pole rather than "mother of all cherry pickers".

I saw a Dutch lamp posts with bollards in front of it, presumably the bollard is sacrificial.

saobh_ie

It said one country's using them in urban areas... what happens to the ped standing behind the sign when some lunatic loses control of thier vechile and comes ploughing over the sign. Sign mise's ped, car doesn't... car doesn't hit ped, sign bops him on the head.

That said on motorways and so on I think they're a great idea once properaly situated. No more rebounds as people loose control hit a barrier and spin back out into the traffic. Less things for slidely (not contained inside impenetrable fortress) motorcyclists to hit, although they'd still be messed up hitting one of them because I presume it won't fail down until theres a certain loading placed on them.

Hotblack Desiato

saobh_ie wrote:

It said one country's using them in urban areas...

Poles in urban areas are a serious hazard to cyclists and motorcyclists if they crash.

We have a forest of the damn things in Dublin city centre and it seems half of them have nothing attached to them.

When I'm in pedestrian mode the poles are often awkwardly situated, reducing the usable width of the path, some paths have bollards taking up 1/3 of their width

Victor

ninja900 wrote:

Poles in urban areas are a serious hazard to cyclists and motorcyclists if they crash.

I'm not sure if they are that much of a hazard. Certainly it's better for the pedestrians on the footpath* for a motorised vehicle to have hit the sign before it hits them.

* I wonder how many pedestrian casualties are on the footpath -v- roadway.

saobh_ie

Well considering one day I saw a driving school car on the stop line of a minor road positioned for a right turn suddenly accelerate faster than I though yaris's could, partailly cross the white line before swinging back and mounting the kerb, driving along it for a bit before coming to a halt two feet from a big sturdy pole. Half an hour earlier and that footpath would have been filled with kids and thier mothers collecting them from school.

Basically, if theres a solid pole with a pedestrian behind it and a car hits it at high or low speed the ped's chances are good. If its collaspable and a car hits it at high speed the car is going straight over the pedestrian, if it hits at low speed the sign is coming down on top of the pedestrian.

And then we're without a sign post for eight weeks (longer!)and everyone gets lost.

Victor

Basically, if theres a solid pole with a pedestrian behind it and a car hits it at high or low speed the ped's chances are good.

"OK", not necessarily "good" - a sign is only so strong.

And then we're without a sign post for eight weeks (longer!)and everyone gets lost.

How about springs?

Hotblack Desiato

Victor wrote:

Certainly it's better for the pedestrians on the footpath for a motorised vehicle to have hit the sign before it hits them.

Yeah but that's not the purpose of these poles and only the thickest lamppost is going to stop a car mounting the path, a signpost won't.
The risk to cyclists and motorcyclists is head injuries after striking a pole, it can often happen that the bike doesn't mount the footpath but the rider does.

MT

I haven’t seen any of these in use in NI, but a few have been utilised down south to display those relatively new safety signs – the ones containing info. on road deaths, penalty points etc. But they certainly seem like a good idea, especially if they save lives.

Another advantage they’d have is solving the old rotating sign conundrum. As each lattice structured pole has corners and isn’t round, signs displayed on a single poll will not be knocked around by a passing truck.

Interestingly, if the UK adopts this technology then road signs there will be the direct opposite, in terms of materials strength, from those in the Republic. The UK will have robust signs and collapsible supports, whereas Ireland has collapsible signs and robust supports.

On a serious note, if a changeover to these new supports was ever considered in Ireland it might create an opportunity for an even more comprehensive review of signage. The design of signs, the materials involved, their placement and maintenance could be assessed. Easily read, well placed signs, with plates that are robust enough to withstand wear and tear, displayed on these collapsible supports being the desired outcome of any such review.