A17, East Heckington on westbound side, near to Maze Farm

There are two sets of signs, both on double poles, approximately 50 metres apart that have been struck and are missing here, leaving the two sets of poles. They have been missing some time - Google confirms these were gone back in June 2025. Looking back, they were both present in June 2023, both hit/missing again in August 2022 and August 2021, one was missing in 2018, and both present in 2017.

One sign is to indicate 'East Heckington', and the other a prohibitive sign to indicate right turns are not permitted. The latter is the most important if it has an active role to prevent collisions by stopping traffic crossing the busy A17 incorrectly.

It is clear these signs are problematic by their current position, easily struck by wider vehicles. I believe the last cause for them being removed was being struck by a HGV which left the carriageway.

The presence of empty poles continues to cause a risk. Should a vehicle go off-road here, the damage they can cause is significant, and to a motorcyclist striking one, it can easily cause catastrophic injuries. Both sets have standard, non-passive poles.

In the UK in 2019, there were 1,658 fatalities and 23,422 seriously injured nationally in collisions where vehicles left the carriageway and collided with a roadside object (DfT data, Enhancing Road Safety Varley and Gulliver, 2019).

Please can the poles be removed, and a review of how any replacement could be sited, reducing the likelihood of further issues.