It’s probably a bad joke. But one that Rijkswaterstaat strongly condemns. Because at a slip road of the N33 near Gieten, two warning signs for wrong-way drivers have been reversed. And that can lead to ‘life-threatening’ situations.
A road inspector discovered the upturned signs yesterday. Pranksters are believed to have struck overnight from Saturday to Sunday, potentially confusing traffic for several hours while driving in the correct direction and on the correct lane.
“It can go horribly wrong,” says a spokesman for Rijkswaterstaat. “As a result, people can go wrong driving. It is probably youthful rowdiness, but our call is not to play these kinds of jokes. Dangerous.”
At road entrances and exits, Rijkswaterstaat places warning signs on both sides of the road with the text ‘Go back’ when road users drive against traffic. This is intended to prevent accidents by wrong-way drivers.
The road inspector who discovered the ‘joke’ calls the action ‘very stupid’ and ‘irresponsible’. He turned the plates around again yesterday.