Today we are continuing with the road safety theme (it is Road Safety Week, after all!) and asking you how well you know your road signs.

Be honest now, after passing your driving test, how many of you can remember what all the road signs actually mean? Well, according to a survey commissioned by Zuto, a car finance expert, a staggering 90 per cent of drivers in the UK admitted that they find road signs confusing. Some of the results of this survey are truly shocking:  

• One third of the participants did not recognise the national speed limit
• Half of the participants believe that there are too many signs on the road
• One in 20 admitted that they have made mistakes driving due to confusing road signs
• Over 4 million drivers didn’t understand the “level crossing without a barrier” sign
• One in four drivers didn’t understand the “car and motorcycles prohibited” sign, with 13 per cent believing that it meant the exact opposite.

Here at Label Source, we take health and safety very seriously, and not knowing your road signs can lead to accidents and hazardous driving. As it is Road Safety Week, we thought it would be fun to test your knowledge of some UK road signs. See if you can correctly identify these road signs: 

1.     What does this sign mean?

a)  Slippery road

b)  Double bend first to the right

c)  No right turn

d) Junction on bend ahead

2.       What does this sign mean? 

a)      Traffic has priority over oncoming vehicles

b)      Oncoming vehicles has priority

c)       Way out

d)      Ahead Only

3.       What does this sign mean? 

a) 

a) Maximum height

b)  Maximum length

c)  Maximum width

d) Height width allowed sign 

4.       What does this sign mean?

a)      Keep left

b)      Keep right

c)       Turn right

d)      Right turn ahead

5.       What does this sign mean? 

a)      Train station ahead

b)      Steam Train museum ahead

c)       Level crossing

d)      Level crossing without barrier ahead

Answers

1.       B

2.       A

3.       C

4.       B

5.       D

Label Source would like to remind you that the use of the correct road signs is crucial for safety of the road user and pedestrians. To view our full range of road signs, please click here.

Today marks the beginning of Road Safety Week, a flagship event created by road safety charity Break, which runs from the 23-29 of November. This year's theme is 'Drive less, live more', the aim of which is to help prevent injuries and fatalities on the road, while also causing people to think about their overall car use. 

To give you a better understanding of why this event is so important for health and safety in the UK, here are some facts which were released by break today:

• Five deaths, and 64 serious injuries happen daily on UK roads
• Air pollution is estimated to kill 52,000 people in the UK each year
• In a survey of a 1,000 driving adults, 85% believed we should reduce overall car use
• Road casualties in the UK went up by 4% last year.
• One in three non-cyclists said they would be more willing to cycle their commute if routes were safer

It's clear that driving has a serious impact on the heath and well-being of the UK as a whole, due in part to driving-related pollution and immobility,as well as fatalities and injuries caused by human error. In order to help promote Road Safety Week, Label Source would like to advise all of our customers to use and display the correct road safety signs at all times! Our full range of signs and barriers can be found here.

Remember, accurate and clear road safety signs can reduce the chances of an accident, by warning divers of hazards and speed restrictions! 

To see the full list of statistics published by Brake, click here, or take a look at their interactive resource.

We would also encourage you to share this post on Twitter and Facebook, using the hatshtags #RoadSafetyWeek and #drivelesslivemore  

For sites with high levels of hazardous substances and dangerous chemicals, the new Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations came into force on 1^st June 2015. This is the introduction of the European Directive known as Seveso 111 in the UK. The main change involves the move from the CHIP (Chemicals – Hazard Information and Packaging to Supply) classification to the new CLP (Classification Labelling and Packaging) standards, which introduces the GHS (Globally Harmonised System).

The reclassification involves converting the substance inventories from the old to the new classification, as well as involving new additions such as pyrophoric solids and liquids, and flammable aerosols. These cover petrochemical, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, nuclear and explosives for on-shore sites.

In addition, all COMAH sites must make certain information about their sites and hazards in an electronic format for public access. This should include prevention policies, emergency plans, and methods of warning the public in the event of a major incident.

Label Source supplies a comprehensive range of GHS signs and GHS tapes, as well as hazard warning signs for chemicals and dangerous substances, which can assist in your risk assessment and training requirements. These signs can form an important component in the prevention of major accidents, and in limiting the effects if any such incident occurs.

While people tend to place greater emphasis on health and safety risks in areas such as construction and factory work, it's important to remember that there are health and safety risks in any workplace, regardless of the location or nature of the work.

An office can seem like a rather inoffensive and risk-free work location for the most part, but as I have already noted, no work location can claim to be completely safe. This is why it's important to have the correct signs on display in your office, to direct your staff in the case of an emergency, and to comply with health and safety legislation.

Here are the 3 most important signs you should have on display at all times:

Health and Safety Law Notice: 

This sign outlines the law on health and safety for you and your staff, it's also a legal obligation to display this notice in the workplace.

Fire Action Safety Sign:

The Fire Action sign is part of our mandatory safe sign range, and is intended to inform both staff and visitors of the correct action to take in the event of discovering a fire.

Fire Exit Symbol:

Another vitally important part of fire safety is ensuring that all fire exits are marked correctly. This Fire Exit sign is part of our Safe Conditions safety sign range.

To view our full range of safety signs, click here. 

It is of vital importance that every electrical appliance and piece of equipment is properly tested, in order to ensure the safety of those who are using it. While some safety defects can easily be identified visually, there are others which only become apparent when the items are thoroughly examined and tested.

The Electricity at Work Regulations legislation, states that any item with the potential to cause injury should be maintained, and kept in a safe condition. While the law does not state how frequently these items should be checked in order to guarentee safety, it stands to reason that regular use should go hand in hand with regular checks. 

A record or label can be extremely useful for the monitoring and maintenance of electrical items, which is why we stock a wide range of PAT Test Stickers here as Label Source. These can be used by professional PAT testers to help them complete their tasks more efficiently, and are compliant with all relevant legislation, including that which we have previously mentioned. 

Our PAT test range includes equipment labels, plug stickers, cable wraps and record cards; all intended to give a clear and easy-to-read indication of when the item was tested, and what the outcome was. The labels cover a wide array of purposes, from periodic inspection, to earth continuity/leackege checks and insulation resistance testing. These items are essential to both the tester and the user, as they keep a clear visual record of items which are unsfe and should not be used. 

If you would like to view our full range of PAT test monitoring items, you can click on the link highlighted above to purchase high-quality safety labels that are fit for your intended purpose. For more advice and information about our labels, or if you can't find what you're looking for, call us on 0800 3761 693 (UK) or 0044 1443 842769 (International). Alternativley you can email your questions to sales@labelsource.co.uk, and we will aim to respond as quickly as possible.