The majority of those working in the road signs industry have concerns with the new legislation governing the designs and conditions of use for traffic signs, survey reveals.

The technology company 3M polled 64 people who work in the industry, ranging from scheme and sign designers to road safety engineers and technicians, on what they thought of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions (TSRGD) 2016.

A total of 84% of respondents said they preferred the old format, but among those who only used it monthly, this figure dropped to 57%. 93% of sign designers preferred the old layout.

Around 47% of respondents said navigating TSRGD 2016 was ‘very difficult’, compared to 35%, 15% and 3% who chose ‘difficult’, ‘OK’ and ‘easy’, respectively. All those who chose ‘easy’ used the document daily.

In several cases, a large majority of respondents said they saw a future need for the amendment in question, even if they had not used it yet.

3M technical specialist Andy Fish, who compiled the survey and analysed the results, said: ‘The TSRGD 2016 marked a big change for the industry when it came into force two years ago. It has been fascinating to see what those involved in sign specification and design think of it now that they have had a chance to get used to the guidance and use the new document.

‘In particular, it is interesting to note the different perceptions held by those who use the document frequently and those who don’t, as well as how professionals with different roles view the new layout.

‘In general terms, it seems that there are indeed some concerns about the document’s ease of use, but many value the substantive changes made to the regulations themselves.’