Odd MWay gantry sign messages

to try to slow the spread of Covid-19 - with too few characters

And Derbyshire seem not to be bothered. You pass through there before Notts and again after Notts.

Tier 3? Or maybe those counties want to discourage unnecessary travel.

"Use Either Lane" would permit drivers to all use just the left hand lane or just right hand lane, should they so choose. There might be some reason why they might do this, leaving the other lane empty.

"Use Both Lanes" encourages them to do just that, to drive in the emptier lane and so even out the traffic flow. This would increase the distance between vehicles allowing faster average speeds etc.

michael adams

...

Makes a change from the seasonal "don't drink and drive" but with the pubs all shut in those counties that isn't an option this year.

Nottingham and South Yorkshire are both tier 3.

Interestingly London is still tier 2 despite having Covid levels higher than many of the big northern cities now in tier 3. I wonder why?

Why do motorway signs in Wales show the time (at least, when not displaying a message)? Or should that ask why signs in England don't show the time?

Its partly a mindset thing - the person choosing the wording it treating all the motorists as a group or class rather than individuals. Whereas the person reading it is taking it as a personal instruction, where is no longer makes sense.

I recall someone relating a case at an airport where a sign near the check-in that said "Will passengers please ensure they have their passports and boarding cards ready". When someone pointed out that "I only have one passport and boarding card" they still did not understand what was wrong with the sign.

to prove they haven't crashed?

there's one gantry sign on the A46 that's been displaying flashing pixels and random corrupted fonts for over a year.

'cause it came out of lockdown 2 in in Tier 2 and the review of tiers isn't due for another week(ish) and presumably any changes won't be implimented for another week after that. Giving a) the masses in those areas scheduled to go up a level plenty of time to have get together before they do and b) jolly virus another fortnight to spread aided by a)...

I see that the national numbers are turning upwards again after the drop frome lockdown 2...

polygonum_on_google used his keyboard to write :

Does Wales have motorways now?

Some, of course, responding, that some will, some won't.

It seems perfectly acceptable to display the time and, yes, it does give a very simple way of checking. So the other part of my question, why not in England? (I don't know about signs in Scotland.)

Maybe because each unnecessary sign (or bit of information on it) is a distraction that increased their cognitive load.

The M4 has been in operation ever since the first Severn Bridge was opened. (in 1966!)

Signs that instruct drivers collectively can be problematic, my favourite is "Use Both Lanes" How are you supposed to respond to that? Shouldn't it be "Use Either Lane"?

charles brought next idea :

Thanks, I always forget that bit.

polygonum_on_google was thinking very hard :

Around here, they seem by default to show how many minutes to a destination or a junction ahead.

I'd like to see

BERKS REDUCE TRAVEL

Ambiguous. It could mean

When in Nottinghamshire, LOSE weight and keep on travelling.