How "legal" do road signs have to be?

[seylectric]

A little off-topic, but I have been wondering about the legal requirements of road signs. I know there are laws, but don't know what they are or where to find them (and I'm too busy to get into this deep but I think it's a good talking point).

 

The signs I am thinking of in particular are speed, sorry, "safety", camera signs. You have all seen them, a few years ago it was signs saying "Police - Speed Check Area". Now they have evolved into speed camera signs. But are these signs legal? There are many of these around, yet often they are in areas where the actual cameras are "dummies" (non-working cameras), and in some cases there are speed camera warning signs on roads where there actually no speed cameras.

 

Put it another way, it would not be legal to put up a one-way sign on a road which was two-way etc. so is it legal to put up speed camera warning signs on roads where there are actually no cameras?

[Rob S]

I am fairly certain that the signs have to comply with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002. The authorities have to comply with these regulations:-

 

The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002

 

I'm sure if you went across to Pepipoo that they would have plenty of information on this topic.

[seylectric]

I'm sure they would, however I am just making the general point that if a speed camera sign is "advertising" a speed camera area where in fact no speed cameras actually exist (or the cameras are dummies) then surely there is no legal right to erect the signs in the first place!

[callumsgran]

AFAIK they are allowed to put them anywhere as long as there is a chance that a mobile unit may be present to catch you or a static camera is present within so many metres.

[bangoglamps]

Basically all road signs and markings have to to comply with TSRGD 2002, many don't and parking/speeding PCN's should be contested.

I see many parking bays that are incorrectly maked out, this may be the size, the lines, signage or the colour even, eg, disabled bays must be white, taxi bays must be yellow, certain markings apply if there are individual bays within a parking bay or it is one long bay..

As for the camera sign it means that there is either a camera, and/or other speed checking devices are employed from time to time in the area.

Be careful!

[newmoses]

The tsrgd 2002 is the "bible" for setting the standards of road signs, road markings etc.Any sign that does not fully comply with the tsrgd 2002 is deemed to be illegal.As for speed camera signs, they can be erected in any area, where from time to time, speed cameras are used wether fixed installation posts or mobile.

[seylectric]

WOW, it's almost three years since my post above but it still applies - my point is that there are speed camera signs on a road where there "are" speed cameras, but those cameras are dummies - not even wired up in fact so never have been working and thus are not actually cameras as such.

 

This is within my locale and to the best of my knowledge it's not an area where mobile cameras have ever been used either, surely they can't just put signs up anywhere on the offchance that one day they might have a mobile unit in place there? If that was the case you could arguably place a speed camera sign on every single road!