Council set to change signs to improve safety at Chesterfield's Horns Bridge roundabout

Horns Bridge roundabout is the site of numerous near-misses on a daily basis.

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Now, 26 advanced driving instructors have put pen to paper and signed a petition, submitted to Derbyshire County Council, calling for changes to the signs surrounding the notorious junction.

They claim the advanced direction signs are to blame for much of the confusion and danger on the roundabout.

Councillor Simon Spencer, the council’s cabinet member for highways, is due to host a meeting on Thursday to agree to spend £10,000 to make changes to the signs.

Council officers say the roundabout sees 75,000 vehicles pass through it on a typical weekday.

They agree that making changes to advanced direction signs would allow motorists to make earlier decisions on which lane they need to get in.

A report on the issue says that the advanced driving instructors had called for: “Amendments to be made to the destination wording on existing advanced direction signs situated on the A617 on the approach to the roundabout, together with new signage installed on the A617 further back from the roundabout.

“There was also a request for improvements to be made to advanced direction signs when approaching the roundabout from the A61 southbound.”

Council officers said in the report: “While officers feel that the current destination signage and lane markings are adequate to allow a motorist to select the correct lane and negotiate the roundabout, additional place name information on the advanced direction signs on the A61 southbound and A617 westbound approaches would be helpful in allowing a motorist to make an earlier decision over which is the correct lane to select prior to entering the roundabout.

“As is alluded to by the petitioner, part of the issue is caused by drivers ignoring the information given to them over which is the correct lane to select depending on their chosen destination, resulting in a late change of lane.

“Unfortunately, it is common driver behaviour to try to beat queuing traffic by swapping lanes at the last possible moment.

“However, recognising that improvements to advanced direction signage could reduce collision numbers, it is recommended that these works be carried out.”

Officers say that from June 2016 to May 2019, there have been nine crashes on Horns Bridge roundabout – all of a ‘slight severity’ – which they say is ‘considered good’ given the number of vehicles that use it every day.

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