Street name signs may appear to be almost a trivial component in the overall scheme of traffic management and road safety. However, as stated in Australian Standard AS 1742.5 (1997), 'Street name and community facility name signs': "Well designed and located street name signs perform an important traffic safety function, particularly in busy traffic conditions, by enabling motorists to identify an intersecting street without having to take their attention off the road for an unnecessarily long period, or slow down to a point where they could become a hazard to other road users." Street name signs are particularly important in maximising response times for emergency services. In late 1998 RACV sent a survey questionnaire to all 78 municipal councils in Victoria seeking information about their street name signing practices. The objectives were to determine the level of compliance with the relevant Australian Standard across Victorian Councils; to identify sources of problems; and to identify ways to improve street name signing practices. The results of the survey highlight a serious problem with the way local government approaches the task of providing information to road users so they may make appropriate, safe, and timely responses. While numerous councils believe they comply with the relevant Australian Standard, in fact very few do in a way which is effective. This paper describes the results of the survey and discusses some of the issues raised by these results. (a)
Samenvatting