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19
May
Council hits the brakes on emoji speed signs in North Yorkshire
Bureaucrats have hit the brakes on rolling out speed signs which include frowning or smiling emojis on local roads.
North Yorkshire does not currently have any fixed speed cameras.
However, North Yorkshire Council allows parishes to buy vehicle-activated signs that use radars to tell motorists how fast they are travelling.
Some parishes now want to deploy cheaper emoji speed signs — also known as speed indicator devices — which typically show a disapproving frowning face or a smiling emoji to motorists depending on their speed.
The emoji signs are credited with contributing to a 30% reduction in collisions elsewhere in the country.
But in a move likely to generate some sad faces, the council has ruled out allowing parishes to use them.
A report due before an environment executive meeting on May 27 raised concern that the emoji signs “could encourage some motorists intentionally registering higher speeds”.
It said unlike vehicle-activated signs, "speed indicator devices do not display the speed limit sign and do not tell the driver any more than is already displayed on a speedometer, albeit they may additionally show a face smiling or frowning/sad expression".
Vehicle-activated signs have already been deployed to 174 communities in North Yorkshire.
Although the emoji technology is cheaper, the council said the £5,500 cost of vehicle-activated signs was absorbed by the parishes who request them rather than by North Yorkshire Council itself.
The report concluded that there was “no evidence to suggest that non-approved speed indicator devices reduce vehicle speeds more" than vehicle-activated signs.
As a result, the council looks set to recommend that motorists are not greeted by any smiling or frowning signs on the county’s roads any time soon.
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