SignGuard

SIGNGUARD – SAVING THE SIGNS THAT SAFEGUARD OUR ROAD

The theft of traffic signs is a national epidemic and is costing City Councils, Borough Councils, County Councils and the Highways Agency hundreds of thousands of pounds each year for replacement signs and the manpower to re-install them.    

As well as the financial impact on already stretched council budgets, sign theft has far more serious repercussions – the safety of the road user.  

All traffic signs are there for a reason so if they are not in place it creates a serious safety hazard; just think of a missing chevron, dangerous bend or even a stop sign and I think you get the picture.  

The perpetrators are often highly organised with credible vehicles and high visibility clothing which to the general public would not attract attention.  

The gangs will often strip an entire stretch of road of its directional and regulatory signage with no care at all for the consequences and the havoc that they are creating. The aluminium signs are then sold to unscrupulous scrap dealers, no questions asked.  

Last years hike in the value of aluminium naturally inflamed the situation and whilst the value of the material has reduced recently aluminium signs still remain an attractive target largely due to the ease with which they can be removed.

This vulnerability has now been addressed by Signpost Solutions, (Signfix) the company that invented the original clip and channel system over 30 years ago.   ‘Signguard’ (patent pending) is a simple but effective device that does two things; it locks the fixing clip to the sign channel and at the same time strengthens the channel by means of a robust steel saddle bracket which prevents any prospective thief from ‘popping’ or ‘springing’ the channel to release the clip and sign.     ‘Signguard’ works with standard clips, standard channel and standard signplate and is an extremely cost effective solution to a very costly problem.    

‘Signguard’ is available now from Signpost Solutions and will soon be ‘saving the signs that safeguard our roads’.