§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what is the outcome of his consultation on the report of the review of direction signs.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe results of that consultation have been considered in the context of the wider revision of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1981. These regulations cover not only directional signs, but a wide range of signs which play an essential part in promoting safety on our roads. All signing needs reviewing from time to time in the light of new traffic needs, road safety research and new technology.
We intend to make a thorough overhaul of the current regulations with several purposes in mind. First, we need to implement the new arrangements for white on brown tourist signs, and certain other changes either proposed in the direction signs review or associated with our demonstration project at Guildford. Second, we need to make changes for road and rail safety reasons (in particular, in connection with signing on motorways, at low bridges and at level crossings). In addition, changes in signing are needed to cater for bus deregulation, to regularise changes already authorised by special procedure, to simplify certain signs (particularly for parking restrictions), to introduce greater flexibility in varying signs, and more generally to consolidate various amending regulations made since 1981.
I am in touch with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales about the early issue of general consultation letters on the substance of all these changes. We shall be consulting local authority associations particularly on the financial implications of the proposals. When the comments received in response to this consultation have been considered, the intention is to circulate for more detailed comment a draft statutory instrument giving effect to the changes which it has been decided to make. Our target is to introduce the revised regulations by autumn 1989.