Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the confidence of drivers in the information conveyed by dot matrix information signs on motorways and trunk roads.

The Highways Agency carries out a continuous survey with road users, tracking satisfaction and expectations with the services provided by the Agency including variable message signs (dot matrix information signs). In respect of surveys carried out during 2013-14, 9% of respondents said that the messages on these signs were unhelpful, while 72% of respondents found that the signage was mostly or completely accurate in the same period.

Nevertheless, I have asked my officials to examine once again the effectiveness of various approached to messaging with a view to developing a coherent policy.