Phantomatic Road Works in Poland: A View from a Dashboard Cam

Abstract Correct signage belongs to critical factors affecting road traffic safety. During a naturalistic driving study in Poland major mistakes associated with signage were noticed and analysed: road works were announced and speed limits were reduced from 120 km/h to 70−80 km/h, but no road construction could be found. Measurements of drivers’ speed showed their complete disregard of the limitations: average speed of light vehicles remained at 113 km/h and lorries at 88 km/h. Assessment of the encountered 683 road signs revealed 12.5% of them to be inadequate (10.9% falsely informed drivers). Evaluation of contrast ratio of road markings (their replacement was the claimed reason for road work) showed low values both before and after re-placement (Weber contrast 0.6). It is hypothesised that erroneous road signage and its contradiction with the visible road features are contributing to the permanent disobedience of traffic rules in Poland and are decreasing road safety.