MOVES to extend bilingual road signs in the Highlands are being held up while the Scottish Government checks whether they are affecting road safety.
Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, says drivers take longer to understand Gaelic-English signs and there is anecdotal evidence some stop or make U-turns on main roads after misreading directions.
Since 2003 the Scottish Government has bee
n installing bilingual road signs on the A82 Inverness to Fort William road and other ferry routes to the Western Isles and Argyll, including Ullapool, Mallaig, Uig on Skye and Oban.
Highland Council wants ministers to give "urgent consideration" to extend this policy on the A9 north of Perth, the A96 east of Inverness and through the centre of the city. It says the signs help enhance the visibility of Gaelic and raise the profile of the language across the region.
However, the authority says it is disappointed that a review of the existing policy will not be completed until 2011 and argues it should not stop more signs being erected.
Mr Stevenson said the review started in 2008 and requires a minimum of three years data after implementation.
He said: "We need to know the impacts bilingual signs are having in our primary areas of responsibility.
"For example, we know from previous research work that driver cognition requirements of bilingual signs are more onerous than those for monolingual signs. Under test conditions the increase in reading time was up to 41 per cent.
"Anecdotal evidence has drivers unfamiliar with an area stopping on the main carriageway of trunk roads to read the signs. We do not know if these and similar incidents are having a negative impact on road safety over time and this can only be determined from detailed accident studies.
"Clearly it could be considered irresponsible not to evaluate the current policy."
Mr Stevenson said Transport Scotland, which is carrying out the review, has a duty to see the trunk road network is fit for purpose and meets the government's targets for improvements in road safety.
"The agency's contribution to Scottish Government policies in support of the Gaelic language is necessarily secondary and must be considered within the context of the government's social, economic and environmental objectives and responsibilities for transport and be applied with due diligence."
Hamish Fraser, chairman of the council's Gaelic committee, said he was disappointed the Transport Scotland review only started in 2008. "While we fully appreciate the responsibility to review policies and expenditure, we feel it is inappropriate for this to be used as a barrier to further expansion of Gaelic signage, especially when there is a range of positive evidence from other countries where bilingual signage is in place."
The full article contains 462 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
