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Yes, of course, but I think we have to acknowledge that it's a very uncommon sign in the UK, and the fact that you almost never come across it in your day to day driving might make you numb to it - and in like the car in the video, just blow right past it. Maybe someone who interacts with Stop signs every day and has to obey them on a regular basis wouldn't have done that.

I don't know of course, this is pure speculation



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Interesting video. I didn't know STOP signs were so rare in the UK!

I wonder if it's at least partially because in the UK stop signs are pretty much non existent. I have only ever seen a handful in my life and people don't have this ingrained understanding that you absolutely have to stop at them and look around before moving - it's just a weirdly shaped give way sign to them.

Something to add to this is that 'stop' signs are pretty rare in the UK compared to somewhere like the US. People wouldn't be expecting a 'stop' sign at a junction like this, so they're expecting to yield, and due to the blind spot they think they are yielding.

In Britain, stop signs are intentionally kept very rare, so that when you see one you stop. It's not always obvious what the danger is until it would have been to late to stop otherwise.

If you live in a country where there are arbitrary signs almost everywhere, like the US, I could see the argument. In the UK, however, this sign very clearly stands out as unusual and a joke. We don't tend to have large, independent signs and billboards on 60mph roads, especially not on the Welsh borders, so the sign's mere presence is curious enough and unlikely to detract from any other signs in the area.

Most UK cities have at least one stop sign, put there so that people doing their driving training or test can have access to one. They really are quite rare.

No. People don't just miss stop signs. If you're missing stop signs slow way the hell down and pay attention.

> Otherwise the sign would say use-your-judgment-and-decide-what-to-do.

Huge numbers of stop signs are found in North America, but they're not so common elsewhere. In Europe, most smaller junctions in residential areas will have a "yield" sign, or no sign at all. Busier ones might have a mini-roundabout (give way to the left).

In the UK, installing a stop sign requires the permission of the central government. This is to keep the sign special — if you see one, there really is some risky road layout that means you can't see safely until you're stopped at the sign. There was only one example anywhere near where I grew up: next to an junction by an ancient castle where parts of the building overhung the road, meaning large vehicles might be on the wrong side of the road to pass by.


In the UK stop signs are rarely used, they are in places where visibility is so poor approaching the junction that it wouldn't be safe not to stop.

There are definitely places where it isn't safe to roll through a stop sign, unfortunately in the US the system uses stop signs as a kind of traffic calming measure so then there isn't a clear way to mark the places where stopping is absolutely needed for safety. Of course in theory drivers should be able to notice the lack of visibility and drive accordingly but in practice the hazards can be somewhat subtle and many drivers have poor judgement.


Indeed. This one used to mystify us on the UK driving test 25 years ago - way older than steam trains, and presumably anachronistic even when it was standardised: http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1848/PreviewComp/Su...

It's not a UK sign. Most Europeans will recognize it, but I doubt it travels well, and even where it has local currency, many peoples grandparents won't remember these in real life.


That sounds excessive. Has there been a political movement against stop signs in the UK?

My first time driving in the UK, I had just come from Iceland where there is a sign before every speed camera. I slowed down for all the signs in the UK, before realizing nobody else did. It seems it's typical these things only catch "foreigners" who don't know the area or its customs.

That surprised me.

Stop signs are so rare in the UK -- I can only think of one in the area I grew up -- that they're taken seriously. Or at least, I thought they were.

"Until 2016, each stop sign had to be individually approved by the Secretary of State for Transport.", though that requirement has been removed.


I think that's an American sign. The context of the article is the UK. We don't that exact sign in the UK. I think there is a 'stop in 100 yards' sign but I can't recall ever seeing one. But the point was people aren't paying attention to the signs... so another sign doesn't solve that.

Maybe drivers slow down to contemplate the sign!

The training doesn’t teach you to “ignore signs and signals.” The point is that the overwhelming majority of junctions of this type are marked Give Way, and the trained behaviour on a Give Way junction is to slow and take careful note of other vehicles, but not necessarily to stop. Full Stop signs are very much more rare in the UK than in the US and where they are used it is typically at completely blind junctions. Because of that, many drivers’ brains will subconsciously recognise this as a Give Way and act accordingly. Which is careless, but ultimately a UX issue.

Wonder how effective that turned out to be in preventig accidents. I don't drive so I really have no clue but a stop sign seems like something that wouldn't influence me much - then again that's mostly why I don't want to learn how to drive :)

A thought which had come to my mind while reading this thread. One of the UK's "lane closed" signs, perhaps? ;-)

It's not, but approximately everybody does it. I've even seen cops do it. Once, I sat at a stop sign for a while, just to see if I could observe anybody actually stop. Nobody did.
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