Day of The Triffids? 28.11.07

Laura was in the car with me a few days ago and for some reason we got on to the subject of road signs. I gave her one or two examples of signs that make me smile and I confessed to an overwhelming urge to punctuate them correctly. Her school is gradually being rebuilt (the operative word is gradually!) and they have been sharing the site with builders for well over a year. She told me about a sign that she didn't understand and she asked what it meant. The sign in question was 'Heavy Plant Crossing' and I explained that it meant beware of diggers. Laura laughed and said that she'd thought it was something to do with planting trees! She posed the obvious question, why can't they just say what they mean? Maybe it is just tradition, but perhaps it is time to have a rethink. If an intelligent A Level student who speaks English as her first language doesn't understand a warning sign, there is little hope for the many people living and working in our country who are not as familiar with the eccentricities of the English language.