Not every day does one stumble upon a discussion as intriguing as this, but I recently had the pleasure of looking back at a particularly intriguing discussion from 1930, best neon signs which took place in the House of Commons. The subject? The growing issue of neon signage—specifically those red and green ones outside shops and factories situated near busy roads. At the time, these signs were causing a considerable amount of confusion for best neon lights drivers. Why? Because they were so similar to the automatic traffic signals that motorists used to guide them.
This led to a heated exchange, where Captain Hudson, the Minister of Transport at the time, pointed out the powers granted under Section 48 (4) of the Road Traffic Act, 1930. Under this provision, local highway authorities had the right to demand the removal of any sign or object that could be mistaken for a traffic signal. In theory, this would prevent the confusion caused by neon signs in close proximity busy roads. However, as you can imagine, the matter was not as straightforward as it appeared.
In the House, Captain Sir William Brass raised a valid point: "Who, may I ask, is the judge of what is or isn’t confusing? he inquired. To this, Captain Hudson responded that it would be up to the highway authority's decision to decide that. This raised the question of whether there would be uniformity—would there be uniformity in how different areas of the country handled this issue? Mr. Morgan Jones, ever the inquiring mind, then asked whether the Ministry of Transport had had enough data on this particular issue.
After all, with the rise of electric lighting, surely the Ministry should have data and a policy in place to handle the confusion caused by these bright signs. Captain Hudson, in a polite yet firm response, insisted that this matter was not within the direct remit of the Ministry. He explained that it was for the councils to take the appropriate action, and that his superior was already considering it. Yet, Mr. Jones raised another important concern: should not the Minister of Transport take a more active role in ensuring consistency?
This is where the debate really became interesting—should it be left to local authorities to tackle it, or should the Minister step in to ensure a cohesive, nationwide solution to a problem that seemed to be causing growing confusion? Ultimately, Captain Hudson acknowledged that the matter was indeed causing confusion, though he deferred to the Ministry’s internal discussions for a more decisive plan. He suggested that the situation would be closely reviewed, but as yet, no firm action had been taken.
What is most striking about this debate, looking back, is how such a minor matter—electric signage—could spark such a substantial discussion in Parliament. While today we may take these kinds of discussions for granted, it was a time when new technology—even something as simple as new signage—could create a domino effect across society.
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