enodreven Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi, Had a bit of an accident while walking along a pavement which resulted in a rather nasty 75mm long graze and a matching bruise. I have been trying to find if there is any legislation on the height of signs above pavement level, The sign in question has been fixed to a pole and is approximately 1.5 metres off the ground and projects either side of the pole approximately 150mm so its quiet easy to catch the side of your head on the projection. Anyone have any idea if this is covered by a British Standard or other UK legislation I would be really grateful Thanks Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi Braunston, Try Googling "Height of road Signs above Pavement Level" and see what comes up... The first (non-advertisement) I got was a pdf from Birmingham City Council which seems to imply 2.3m is the minimum above a pavement and goes on to say that this applies to temporary signs as well. What kind of sign was it that you collided with? HTH, keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I'm a bit on the edge of my knowledge, here, (I did quite a lot of research on public footpaths some time ago which led me into this area) but AFAIK such signage will probably come (indirectly) under the provisions of the Highways Act 1980. As such, the relevant Highways Authority for your area (usually the County Council or Unitary Authority if not a trunk road) will be the people responsible for standards and enforcement, and thus to contact. Looking very quickly across the various council sites seems to back this up; standards apply, though the actual rules appear to vary. (I haven't found one under 2.2m clearance!). Try contacting the appropriate Highways Department. (My County Council has a specific web form for reporting such issues). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Brian.. If this sign is only 5' up,then admittedly it isn't exactly in the best of places..but,and any possible "regulations" aside,on a forum that normally revels in slagging off H&S etc(or "PC madness" as it usually gets confused with *-) ),it is slightly strange to find a thread which may as well have been titled, "I've walked into a sign,who can I blame?" (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 pepe63 - 2012-04-12 1:37 PM Brian.. If this sign is only 5' up,then admittedly it isn't exactly in the best of places..but,and any possible "regulations" aside,on a forum that normally revels in slagging off H&S etc(or "PC madness" as it usually gets confused with *-) ),it is slightly strange to find a thread which may as well have been titled, "I've walked into a sign,who can I blame?" (lol) (lol) ....though, without further evidence, the thread might easily be entitled ""I've walked into a sign,who can I tell so that something can be done about it and nobody else does in the future". :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 ..I suppose they *could* always put another sign up..something along the lines of. "Look where you're going" .....(lol) ..and I would've thought that if anyone *was* concerned that it may happen to others,then they wouldn't *really* be needing to know the legality of the sign's height... ;-) They would've either : a) Contact the people who erected the sign.... or,if they were *really* concerned b)Take spanner/screwdriver to it and move it up the post themselves... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 pepe63 - 2012-04-12 1:53 PM ..I suppose they *could* always put another sign up..saying "Look where you're going" ..... (lol) ....though if they put it at an appropriate height, you'd probably walk into the original whilst reading it. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I've never seen it in "real life" but isn't there a humorous "warning" sign around...something like ; "Warning! This sign may have sharpe edges!" (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francisgraham Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 You don't really need to know law or the relevant statute. Sometime the law does have a lot of common sense and if a council erects a sign at a height at which someone can easily bang into it then you will have a case. What if you were blind or near sighted? No blind man's white stick would have found a sign five feet off the ground. This is why there are minimum height restrictions. I know of a case where an overhanging branch ripped off a satellite dish on a motorhome. The householder had to pay as he has a duty to ensure that no branches are lower than the height of a lorry. I could look it up but it's about 3.5 metres I think. At the very least you should report it to the council so that the next person doesn't do even more damage and possibly lose an eye. Of course a lot will depend on its situation. If it projects into a pavement then you've a good case. If you were taking a short cut over a roundabout you've probably no case as you shouldn't be there in the first place. However, I'm assuming from what you say that it is in a place where people normally walk as you did say 'pavement'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 braunston - 2012-04-12 10:51 AM Hi, Had a bit of an accident while walking along a pavement which resulted in a rather nasty 75mm long graze and a matching bruise. I have been trying to find if there is any legislation on the height of signs above pavement level, The sign in question has been fixed to a pole and is approximately 1.5 metres off the ground and projects either side of the pole approximately 150mm so its quiet easy to catch the side of your head on the projection. Anyone have any idea if this is covered by a British Standard or other UK legislation I would be really grateful Thanks Brian As above, contact the highways authority and advise them. Wouldn't worry about legislation, the sign is clearly a hazard, as you have proved! Just tell them what happened, and that you fear others may suffer the same, or worse. It is quite possible a prankster has found they could pull it down the pole, by way of a joke, so it would be unfair to assume the authority fixed it so low originally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Whatever you do - get a picture of the sign before you contact the council. (preferably showing a tape measure to indicate the height. A couple of years ago my 92 year old mother tripped over a badly fitting paving stone & broke her nose & arm & smashed her glasses. We contacted the council, & complained. I went to take pictures a day or so later (I live in Oxford, she is in Dover) and the paver had been reset & there was no longer a ridge or trip hazard. We were then unable to prove that it was a trip hazard, & were advised that we had no case. (The council admitted that they had repaired it, but we were unable to prove that it was, I believe, over 20mm high - which constitutes a trip hazard) Lovely bunch of beaurocrats aren't they! >:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I am not sure about the current law but at one time( basic police training 1968) this sort of thing was governed by The Town Police Clauses Act of about 1860. It gave the power to local authorities to adopt the bits of the act they wanted. The height of 2.3 M was about right. Something to do with a constable in a tall hat being able to patrol perhaps. It covered things like beating carpets in the street after 7 am bonfires and such like. One town I worked in was difficult to get a transfer from and I always threatened to work down the main street reporting all the offending shop keepers with low blinds. The resulting howls of complaint should have worked a ticket out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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