Frowning road signs 'have short-lived effect on driver speed'

Road signs which feature a face frowning when motorists exceed the speed limit are being widely ignored, a study has found.

The rectangular black signs, which were inititally welcomed by motoring groups as a less aggressive alternative to cameras, have sprung up on more than 1,000 roads around the country.

Councils and police forces who encountered fierce opposition to each speed camera they put up found they were not criticised by drivers for installing the reminder signs and, given that they cost around £3,000 each compared to £20,000 for a camera, their roll-out seemed to be a no-brainer.



But the radar devices, which flash up every approaching vehicle's speed along with a happy or frowning face depending on whether they are within or above the limit, are said by the Transport Research Laboratory to have a purely "novelty effect" on drivers.

While they may slow down the first few times they are frowned at, they end up ignoring them.

Three weeks after the signs were installed, speeding was just as bad as it was before. In half the test sites, more drivers broke the speed limits than did before the devices were installed.