14 DAY TRIAL // Some people are yet to figure this out, but the fact of the matter is that traffic signs are not suggestions drivers may or may not take into account, depending on what mood they happen to be in when behind the wheel.
They are rules and regulations, and should be treated accordingly. Except on those rare occasions when they make no sense whatsoever, that is. It's times like these that folks can go rogue and just drive their four-wheelers however they see fit.
Case in point: a wacky road in the city of Nottingham in the UK that adventurously lets drivers pick and choose between two different speed limits, i.e. 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour) and 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour).
Wait, what?
As shown in the image accompanying this article, Nottingham's Middledale Road sports two distinct traffic signs on each of its sides. One says that drivers should not go faster than 20 miles per hour, the others says the speed limit is one of 30 miles per hour.
Locals admit that, when they first laid eyes on these traffic signs, they were left quite confused by them. So much so that some even assumed that, for some mysterious reason, there was a speed limit for one side of the road and one for the other.
“At first, I thought maybe it was 20mph if you turn left and 30mph if you turn right. Then I realized it must have been an error. But who makes a mistake like that?” 23-year-old Simon Brown told the press in an interview, as cited by the Nottingham Post.
Just a mishap
Just like when the world's first “bup stop” made its debut in the city of Bristol, the fact that Middledale Road in Nottingham now offers drivers a choice between two different speed limits is no more and no less than a mishap. A rather hilarious mishap, to be more precise.
As explained by local authorities, this one road is now part of a 20 miles per hour zone around a local school. Rather than have speed bumps set in place, officials chose to draw attention to this fact using good old traffic signs. Unfortunately, workers installed the wrong ones.
Seeing how much bad publicity this unfortunate incident is getting, it's safe to assume that local authorities will do their best to install the right traffic signs and end all the chaos the current ones are causing as soon as possible.