HC Deb 17 February 1971 vol 811 cc1830-1
36. Mr. Jopling

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will arrange for words of warning or other similar devices to be placed on the road surfaces of trunk roads on the approaches to roundabouts.

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

Road markings and traffic signs are already provided.

Mr. Jopling

Is the Minister aware that in foggy weather some roundabouts are turned quite regularly into battlefields and that this is often caused by the fact that the driver's attention is directed to the road surface rather than to the signs at the side of the road? Will he carry out experiments in those cases where there have been bad accidents in fog to see whether warning signs written on road surfaces would provide a means of reducing the large number of accidents which occur in this way?

Mr. Griffiths

My hon. Friend is on an important point in regard to foggy weather conditions. I am advised that before most roundabouts the signs on roads which motorists observe change from small white lines to longer ones, thus identifying that a roundabout is nearly ahead. If my hon. Friend has a particular roundabout in mind, I shall be glad to look at the details.