Speedwatch signs on A4074 Dorchester Bypass

The request was successful.

Dear Sir/Madam,

On the A4074 Dorchester Bypass there are a number of signs saying: -

Speedwatch
STAY IN LANE
Kill your speed

Please could you let me know: -

1. The cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining these signs to date, and where the funding came from (which council budget, sponsoring organisation, etc.)

2. Whether the signs have site-specific approval from the Department for Transport. If you do, please include a copy of this approval.

3. If you do not have site-specific approval, please can you let me have any documents you have detailing who authorised the wording, and what justification was made for: -

a) Using signs not authorised by the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002.

b) Using signs that contradict the road markings (e.g. the Highway code says overtaking in broken hatched areas is permitted when it is safe and necessary, but the sign instructs drivers to "Stay in lane").

4. The signs use the phrase "Speed kills". Please can you let me know, for this stretch of road, the number of KSI (Killed or Seriously Injured) accidents AND casualties and their causes, specifically including: -

a) Excess speed.
b) Exceeding the speed limit.

Thank you in advance for your help and time.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Waites

E&E - FOI, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Our reference: 3447 FOI

 

Dear Mr Waites

 

Thank you for your request for information received on 28^th September
2011 concerning A4074 – Dorchester bypass signage.

 

We have attached a response to 3 parts of your request – however, we are
writing to ask you to clarify your request with respect to your fourth
question.  This is because we need further details from you in order to
identify and locate the information. Therefore we should be grateful if
you would respond to the clarification request as set out in question 4.

 

Please note if we do not receive further clarification from you in
relation to this request by 6^th January 2012 the council will consider
your request closed.

 

Once we have these details your enquiry will be considered and you will
receive the information requested, unless an exemption applies.

 

Please contact us if you would like some advice on refining your request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

E&E FOI Coordinators

 

 

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

Dear Mr. Tole,

Thank you for your reply. I was disappointed to read that you believe no authorisation has been given for the signs. I find it difficult to believe that any such authorisation would have been destroyed, as it would still be current today.

As such, I am forced to conclude that the signs you have erected are unlawful as they are not prescribed by Traffic Signs and General Directions (TSRGD) 2002. Thus it follows that the signs are an obstruction to the highway, as defined by the Highways Act 1980.

The council has a General Duty to remove any obstructions to the highway. Please take this as a formal notice to remove the signs. If the signs are not removed within fourteen days (by the end of Sunday 23rd October), I intend to hold the council responsible for any damages the signs cause me or my vehicle in future.

Please be aware that this letter is publicly accessible, and so is available to any road user or insurance company who may be dealing with an accident there in future.

Your assertion that the signs support guidance in the Highway Code is, in my view, also incorrect. This is disappointing as you are a Traffic Engineer, thus I would expect you to understand how to implement overtaking restrictions. The signs would be correct if the hatching in the road was bordered by solid lines. As it is, the lines are broken, therefore overtaking is permitted across all three lanes. Nevertheless, this is somewhat academic, as the signs are unlawful whether or not the road marking support them.

Regarding my final point, please provide accident statistics for the last three years that are available, thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

E&E - FOI, Oxfordshire County Council

Our reference:  3447 FOI

 

Dear Mr Waites

 

Thank you for your clarification response received 10th October 2011 in
which you asked for information about the available accident statistics
for the last three years.

 

Your request is being considered and Oxfordshire County Council will
respond within 20 working days in compliance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  This means that the council will send a response to
you by 4^th November 2011.

 

There may be a fee payable for this information.  You will be informed if
this is the case and you can decide if you wish to proceed with your
request.

 

If appropriate, the information requested can be made available in
alternative formats, including other languages, Braille, large print, and
audiocassette.  If you require any of these formats then please let us
know.

 

Please contact us if you have any have further enquiries about your
request.  We would be grateful if you could quote the reference number
given at the top of this email.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

E&E FOI Coordinators

 

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

Dear Mr. Tole,

I'm disappointed to note that despite requesting the council to fulfil it's duties and remove the unlawful signage on the A4074 Dorchester Bypass, the signs still remain. I remind you that both employees and councils have been imprisoned and fined respectively in the past for ignoring reports of road defects.

Please let me know what you are intending to do to rectify the problem with the signs, thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Chris

E&E - FOI, Oxfordshire County Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Waites

 

Please find attached a response together with one attachment that provides
the information you requested.

 

Yours sincerely

 

E&E FOI Coordinators

 

 

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

Tole, David - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

Dear Mr Waites

Thank you for your email dated 10 October 2011.  You kindly clarified the
period for which you required the accident statistics and we have
responded separately to you on this, within the FOI process.  I am
responding to the other points made in your email herewith, as a business
enquiry.

With regard to the retention of sign authorisations it is certainly the
case that such authorisations are normally retained even after other
documents have been destroyed in line with OCC policies. 

Concerning wording of the signs we contend that these signs are providing
valuable road safety information using approved wording but in a
non-standard context. We would also wish to point out that the provision
of the signs and markings have led to an appreciable reduction in the
number and severity of accidents along this stretch of road - a road that
had previously been identified in a national study as having a very poor
safety record when compared with similar roads in other authorities.

On the matter of the correlation between the markings, signs and Highway
Code, you will be aware that the latter states that where there are areas
of white diagonal stripes bordered by a broken white line (such as on
A4074) 'you should not enter….unless it is necessary and you can see that
it is safe to do so'. The Dorchester Bypass was designed to a national
standard which is no longer in use as it was found to be inadequate for
modern traffic. It presents the driver with a level of forward visibility
which is deceptively inadequate for overtaking and so the firm advice to
'Stay in lane' is especially relevant.

In summary, given the very clear benefits that have arisen from this
scheme and the absence of any evidence to suggest that the signs
themselves are a road safety hazard, we will not be ordering the removal
of the signs at this time.

Yours sincerely

David Tole
 
Principal Engineer
Traffic & Safety Improvements
Environment & Economy
Oxfordshire County Council
Speedwell House
Speedwell Street
Oxford
OX1 1NE
 
01865 815942

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Dear Mr. Tole,

Thank you for your email and providing the information I requested.

Regarding the Speedwatch signs, I totally disagree with your reasoning for retaining the signs. If the council believes discouraging overtaking is desirable, then it should go about it in a lawful manner - that is, by making a TRO, with the associated public consultation.

Putting up unlawful signs is wrong and sets a dangerous precedent, which I do not believe is acceptable. If the council puts up non-prescribed signs, what is to stop a resident putting up 15mph roundels through a village, because they feel it will "improve safety"? The law is there for a reason, and the council should be setting an example by not acting unlawfully.

Thus please take this as a formal request that I would like to make a complaint and seek an Initial Review under Oxfordshire County Council's Corporate Complaints Policy. I expect an acknowledgement within five working days (by 11th November 2011), and a response within ten working days thereafter.

Yours sincerely,

Chris

To the council official handling the complaint: -

I appreciate there has been a chain of correspondence so to summarise I would like to complain about the following points: -

1. Acting unlawfully.
The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (TSGRD) clearly sets out what are acceptable and permitted signs to erect on a public highway. Any signs falling outside of the clear designs set out in TSGRD need specific approval from the Department for Transport. Otherwise they are regarded as an obstruction to the highway under the Highways Act 1980, and the council has a duty to remove any obstructions.

Thus, the council has acted unlawfully on two occasions - firstly, by erecting unlawful signs on the A4074 Dorchester Bypass, and secondly by refusing to remove an obstruction to the highway when required. It is not acceptable for anyone - especially a county council, who should be above reproach - to flagrantly ignore the law.

2. Record keeping
I requested records of any DfT approval for the signs, to be met with a non-committal response which effectively amounted to "We probably don't have approval, but we may have destroyed it if we did".

Clearly the presence, or otherwise, of such an important document should not be in any doubt. I'm not sure if it was simply a ploy to avoid admitting that no such document ever existed, but if important documents can be inadvertently destroyed then a review of document storage is clearly required.

3. Professional standards
Oxfordshire County Council seems to get public servants from relevant departments to reply to FOI requests, which is good - if professional standards are maintained.

In my FOI response I was first told that the signs supported the road markings. For a Principal Engineer working in transport to believe that a broken white line denotes an overtaking restriction is clearly worrying.

I was then told that the reason for the signs contradicting the road markings was in the name of "safety". I would expect a Principal Engineer to understand how overtaking restrictions to promote road safety work - namely, that a TRO is made to restrict overtaking, and the road markings updated accordingly. Otherwise, it is up to an individual driver to decide if it is safe and necessary to overtake.

It is, in my mind, not acceptable for a public servant to think it is right to erect unlawful signs to discourage drivers from driving in a lawful manner - any more then it would be to put up speed limit signs without a supporting TRO on the basis that it improved safety. The law is there for a reason - not for Mr Tole to ignore because he feels his opinion carries more weight.

An acceptable resolution to the above would be: -

1. The removal of the unlawful signs.
2. Remedial training where required as to the requirements of TSGRD and the Highways act.
3. A review of the council's document storage policy.
4. An apology for the incorrect information I have been given regarding the legality of the Speedwatch signs.

As I'm sure you can appreciate, I hope we can resolve this amicably but bearing in mind the seriousness of these points - particularly the flagrant disregard for the law - I will have no hesitation taking this to the Local Government Ombudsman if necessary.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Waites

E&E - FOI, Oxfordshire County Council

Dear Mr Waites

Thank you for your two emails dated 4 November. We will respond to you further next week.

Yours sincerely

E&E FOI Co-ordinators

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Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Waites

Further to your two emails to Mr David Tole, please find attached my
official acknowledgement.

Yours sincerely

<<waites Nov 11.doc>>

Chris Howard

Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport

Environment & Economy

Oxfordshire County Council

Speedwell House

Speedwell Street

Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

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Dear Ms Howard,

Thank you for your email. I will look forward to Mr Murray's response by Friday 2nd December.

As detailed above, I believe having the response publicly accessible has great merit to the press, fellow road users and insurance companies in the unfortunate event of an accident happening on the Dorchester bypass in future. Because of this, I would appreciate it if the response could be via this site. Thank you in advance for your co-operation with this.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

I do not work on Mondays. Anything urgent please contact Jenny Larkcom.

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
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Dear Ms Howard,

Please remember that the response to my complaint is due by the end of today, thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Waites

Thank you for your email. 

Please find attached Mr John Murray’s response to your complaint.

Yours sincerely

<<waites 2.12.11.doc>>

Chris Howard

Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport

Environment & Economy

Oxfordshire County Council

Speedwell House

Speedwell Street

Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

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Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for your email and the apologies from both yourself and Mr Tole, which are greatly appreciated.

I know you are no doubt busy but so that this complaint can be closed, I would like to fix an exact deadline for removal of the signs. I believe a reasonable timeframe to be within 21 days - that being the legal maximum if an order was granted under Sec 130B of the Highways Act 1980. Thus, with your agreement, I would expect the signs to be removed by the end of Friday 23rd December.

If you are unable to carry out the required remedial work in this time, please let me know the reasons why and suggest an alternative deadline.

Finally, I note that you are "keen that the intent behind the original installation of both the signs and the markings... is maintained. Consequently we will be seeking authorisation for the continuation of the ‘Stay in Lane’ message and also considering what additional road safety messages can be conveyed by signs permitted under the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007"

Firstly, if we are to accept your view that safety would be improved by discouraging overtaking, I find it astounding that you think that the best way to achieve this is via roadside advertising under Sch 3 Class 1A of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007. To my mind, when there are already appropriate road markings and signage to restrict overtaking in TSGRD, I see no reason to opt for advertising, which would increase clutter and be less effective than proper overtaking controls.

However clearly 1.55m³ advertising is preferable to large, unlawful signage. All I would suggest is that you ensure that your advertising supports, rather than contradicts the road markings and signage. Otherwise I would imagine they would be ignored even more than the current signage is, thus hindering your attempts to improve road safety.

Thank you again for your time, and I hope you arrange removal of the signs at the earliest possible opportunity so this complaint can be closed.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

I do not work on Mondays. Anything urgent please contact Yvonne Staniford.

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

Dear Mr Waites

Thank you for your email dated 2 December. We are looking into the points you raise and will reply to you in the near future.

Yours sincerely

Chris Howard
Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport
Environment & Economy
Oxfordshire County Council
Speedwell House
Speedwell Street
Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

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Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Waites

Please find attached Mr Murray’s response to your email dated 2 December.

Yours sincerely

<<waites 15.12.11.doc>>

Chris Howard

Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport

Environment & Economy

Oxfordshire County Council

Speedwell House

Speedwell Street

Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

show quoted sections

Dear Mr Murray,

Thank you for your email. I do not believe that it is acceptable to keep signs that you have agreed are unlawful and an obstruction to the highway up indefinitely. Thus, please be advised that your failure to take steps to remove the signage is in breach of Sec 130 of the Highways Act 1980.

Consequently, I intend to make an application under Sec 130 B & C of the Highways Act 1980 to Oxford Magistrates Court to grant an order for you to remove the signage in a more timely manner. I will also be making an application for costs, as allowed by the relevant legislation.

As I have always stated, my intention throughout this has always been to get a swift and fair resolution - the council has already wasted money designing, erecting, maintaining and defending these signs. I therefore would invite you to reconsider your position to minimise any further costs to the council, which could be considerable if you allow the matter to progress to court.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

I do not work on Mondays. Anything urgent please contact Jenny larkcom or
Yvonne Staniford.

This email, including attachments, may contain confidential information.
If you have received it in error, please notify the sender by reply and
delete it immediately. Views expressed by the sender may not be those of
Oxfordshire County Council. Council emails are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/emaildiscl...

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Waites

Further to your email below and your online complaint form, please find
attached my official acknowledgement.

Yours sincerely

<<waites Dec 11.doc>>

Chris Howard

Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport

Environment & Economy

Oxfordshire County Council

Speedwell House

Speedwell Street

Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

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Dear Mr Williams,

Thank you for handling my complaint. I appreciate the correspondence regarding this is somewhat long, and so I would like to summarise why I have taken my complaint to this stage.

The issue of unlawful signs may seem almost trivial, however, it is the council's response to this which has annoyed me most. My impression is that those dealing with the case so far see the money wasted on the signs to date as inconsequential, and the law regarding road signs as merely an annoyance to be circumvented by erecting "advertising" instead of signage.

Before I ran my own business, I worked as a manager in food service, which involved contact with the council on a frequent basis. Occasionally, they would point out that we were acting outside the law. Obviously this was very embarrassing for me - although technically we could have been taken to court, the council sensibly allow you to take steps to correct any small faults found.

On the occasions this happened I obviously made correcting the faults - however small or trifling - my first priority, and ensured they were corrected long before the statutory deadlines. However, I'm sure if I'd told the council that I didn't care about the law as I thought I had a better idea of what was safe, and that I would continue acting unlawfully until I could find a workaround, I would have received a pretty short shrift from the council.

Now that the boot is on the other foot it seems there is a lack of proper leadership in the Highways Department which means they can act with impunity and ignore the very regulations, such as TSGRD, which should be core to their work. The only difference, as far as I can see, is that the council is wasting taxpayers money rather than private money by acting unlawfully in the first place, and has far greater resources to correct any mistakes that a normal business.

I appreciate the justification for the council's position thus far has been in the name of "safety". I also agree this should be a top priority, however, driving the Dorchester bypass on a frequent basis has led me to believe that the signs make the road less safe by fostering uncertainty amongst drivers as to whether it is legal or not to overtake. I'm sure you agree that the reason why we have laws like TSGRD is to create a consistent road environment, where drivers are sure of their actions and can safely progress with their journeys. With this in mind, I hope you will agree to removal of the signs by a set, reasonable deadline.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Chris Waites

Chris left an annotation ()

To those following this request: -

Oxfordshire County Council sent me what can only be described as an extraordinary letter where they admit breaking the law - repeatedly - but justify this under Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 - a new excuse and one that has no relevance to any of my complaint. For obvious legal reasons they declined to post the response here, so I have asked permission to reproduce it.

I will post the entire letter up with their permission as soon as possible.

Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Waites

 

Please find attached a copy of Mr Andy Williams’ response to your
complaint.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Chris Howard
Highways & Transport Administration Manager

Highways & Transport
Environment & Economy
Oxfordshire County Council
Speedwell House
Speedwell Street
Oxford OX1 1NE

telephone: 01865 810459

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Chris - Community Grocer [mailto:[email address]]
Sent: 20 January 2012 18:07
To: Howard, Christine - Environment & Economy - Highways & Transport
Subject: RE: formal complaint about quality of service in connection with
Dorchester Bypass (ref 1066-11)

 

Dear Ms. Howard,

 

Thank you for this. Please can I ask that you post this on the
WhatDoTheyKnow site, as per the rest of the correspondence regarding this
issue? I appreciate that you have probably not done this on legal advice,
but I'm sure you will agree there is significant public interest in
publishing what can only be described as an extraordinary letter.

 

Otherwise please can you confirm the disclaimer at the bottom of your
email does not apply to this document, and I will post it on your behalf.

 

Kind regards,

 

Chris Waites,

Proprietor,

Community Grocer

 

T: 01235 887587| M: 07521 384062

E: [1][email address] | W: [2]www.communitygrocer.co.uk

 

 

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