In 2005, Donna Guile’s daughter, Hayley, was involved in a car crash in Henley. The circumstances of the accident will be familiar to many drivers in the UK. Approaching a junction, Hayley had to swerve to avoid contact with a vehicle that had pulled out in front of her unexpectedly. Hayley died after her car struck a tree.
Eight years later, Mrs Guile is leading a campaign to improve road-sign maintenance.
Mrs Guile explained: “There weren’t a lot of signs on the stretch of road where Hayley had her accident and the man who pulled out wasn’t familiar with the road. The council is quite right to put signs in place, but it has to do its bit in maintaining them.”
Mrs Guile added that the few signs that are installed on the approach to the junction are dirty. She fears another avoidable accident could occur at the junction unless the signs are cleaned.
Supported by two local councillors, David Smith and Elizabeth Hodgkin, Mrs Guile had taken to washing the signs herself. The question is, will Henley Town Council follow suit?
Here at The Sussex Sign Company, we wish Mrs Guile every success in tackling this important issue. Illegible signage is at best useless and at worst dangerous.