Mayo County Council road safety officer Noel Gibbons has called on all candidates in the upcoming Local and European elections to take care when erecting election posters along the roadways in the county and to take road safety into consideration.
He said this week: “Driver distraction has a negative impact on road safety and so election signage should be carefully placed not to obscure vision or have a negative effect on road safety.”
He explained there is a safety issue connected to the erection and removal of posters, etc, particularly those which are inappropriately sited, also care should be taken by any personnel erecting signage near road ways.
“A build-up of election material can often have a negative visual impact on the general amenity of roads with possible safety implications for drivers and pedestrians. Election candidates should consider road safety when they place any posters in areas which are crucial to road users such as on roundabouts, statutory road signs, directional signs, traffic light poles, stop or yield signs, or other crucial areas,” the road safety officer added.
However Mr Gibbons believes this can be a problem for motorists and other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians. “We can appreciate that candidates need to get their posters out there and in the best possible areas, but by placing them in these areas, this can lead to problems for motorists such as vision impairment, obstruction or distraction, which could lead to a collision, so in the interest of road safety I am appealing to candidates to be conscious of where posters are placed and please ensure that they are not placed in hazardous areas.” Among the signs that should not be obscured are those relating to speed limits, junction warnings, road works, and directions.
