Drivers in the fast lane to confusion

HIDDEN warnings . . . A speed sign to the left is obscured by a tourist board on the A62 and the one on the right is blocked by foliage

Hidden speed signs will be uncovered

NEW speed signs at an accident blackspot proved worthless for motorists — after they were positioned behind foliage and a tourist information board.

The 30mph limit signs had been erected before a bend on the A62 Oldham Road, between Scouthead and Delph, as part of traffic calming measures after several fatal accidents.

Oldham Council has agreed to cut back the shrubbery and reposition the tourist sign after the Evening Chronicle was alerted by an eagle-eyed reader.

Colin Jenkins, from Alt, says the new signs went up around four weeks ago and the tourist sign about two weeks ago.

He blasted the positioning as “bonkers”, saying: “After all the furore about preventing vehicles from traversing Delph crossroads at lethal speed, here are the new speed restriction signs approaching Delph from Scouthead.

“One is already partially obscured by foliage, the other has had a non-essential tourist information board erected smack in front of it.”

He added: “As soon as I came around the corner I thought ‘good grief’. I was just amazed. Common sense has disappeared. What a waste of money.

“For quite some time anyone that’s been out of the area would be quite confused about the speed restrictions on that road. It’s been 30 going one way and 40 going the other.

“They have been playing around with it for ages and it’s about time they got it right. For a long time leaving Huddersfield there was nothing to tell you it’s 50mph.”

A stretch of the road, from Scouthead to the Kirklees boundary, has claimed five lives in seven years and seen 14 serious injuries, making it one of Britain’s most dangerous roads.

In July, 2008, Karl Jones died when he lost control of his Honda motorcycle close to Knarr Lane, Delph. In March, 2006, three men died when their car collided with a bus close to the Doctor Lane junction, Scouthead.

After residents, councillors and local MP Phil Woolas demanded action, the council carried out £300,000 of improvements including reduced speed limits, flashing speed signs, crash barriers, new road markings and anti-skid treatment at junctions.

After being alerted by the Chronicle, a council spokesman said officers had visited the site and the work to rectify the problem is due to take place this week.