Peace, that is indeed an interesting study. I've never had a great sense of direction (but I can read a map....) and the amount of road signage these days is appalling... not least for the fact that as a pedestrian, my pavement (sidewalk) is being cluttered up by road signs and poles.

I live about 60ft from a fairly busy junction (2 schools and a major rat run). The powers that be decided to slow traffic by putting a mini roundabout at this junction. They put the sign warning people of this new roundabout 30ft from the junction, behind a tree. You could only see the sign when you were level with the tree, by which time, it was too late to stop. Incidentally, the police, the ambulance service and everyone who lives around that junction all say that the rate of accidents has increased since it was put in.

So often street signs are obscured by traffic signs, and in many cases, especially London, traffic signs are obscured by other traffic signs.

Add this to the maniac population we have here (people who dress entirely in black then jump out from between parked cars at night - I swear all we saw of one guy was his eyes and teeth as he turned to swear at us...) who have the road sense of your average possum, and it makes for some very fraught journeys whatever age you are.

LTS