Warning Signs – Protecting You From Yourself in Ireland

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I recently returned from a trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland and found that they have gone overboard warning signs.  It took me about three days of being there before I started noticing the overabundance of signs but once I did they were all over the place.

These signs came in the following varieties:

• Warnings of not to do something with a monetary fine if you do
• Warnings not to do something that may result in you injuring yourself or someone else
• General Instructions of what to do or how to use something

Here are some of the more interesting signs that I saw.

ELEVATOR SIGN

This sign is from an elevator in the Victoria Square Mall in Belfast.

 

This sign states the obvious that elevator doors are going to open and to keep your fingers away.

Really?  Does “The door is going to open” warrant a sign?   I would be more interested in a sign that told me what to do if the door did not open because then I would have a problem.

 

LIGHT RAIL SIGN

This sign is one of my favorite ones.  It was on the LUAS  light rail train in Dublin.

 

I do not think this sign has enough of a disclaimer.  They really could have taken it to a whole new level.  It should read:

“Children should not climb on seats.  If the tram stops suddenly they could fall.  If they fall they could be injured and might have to go to the hospital.  If they go to the hospital is will cost you a lot of money.”

They probably wanted to put a bigger disclaimer on this sign but they did not have enough room for the English and Irish versions.

 

DISCLAIMER SIGN

This sign was posted on a walkway to a bridge in Belfast.

 

I think it speaks for itself.  The owner of the Weir (Bridge) does not accept any responsibility even though it is open to the public.

 

BRIDGE SIGNS

On a bridge over the River Langan in Belfast I found these four signs.  These signs were repeated a number of times on the bridge.

 

What they are really trying to tell you is that you should not jump in the water.  This could easily be covered in one sign.

Instead there are four signs that try to cover every scenario.  First they do not want you to climb on the wall. Second they tell you that the water is deep. Third is that the current is strong.  Finally  that there are underwater obstructions.

I think they have just about every possible scenario covered except the following:

If you are able to jump over the wall without touching it and land on a boat without getting in the water then you are OK because you have not violated any of the other rules.

 

PARKING GARAGE SIGNS

This one is the best because it has multiple warning signs for the same issue and the signs contradict each other.

 

There are two signs that state the maximum height for a vehicle is 4.5m.  The problem comes when they convert from meters to feet.  One has 14’7″ and the other has 14’9″.  Which one is it? Should I be concerned if my vehicle is 14’8″ or will I be OK?

Just in case you did not read the warning signs about the height they also tell you that there are pipes overhead.  I wonder if these pipe are 14’7 or 14’9!

There are also two signs warning that your car will be clamped if parked on the ramp and what it will cost you.

If you did not have enough to read there is also a “Slow Pedestrians” sign.  I wonder how many pedestrians get run into because the drivers are too busy reading the other signs.

 

MULTIPLE WARNING SIGNS

 

 

Why waste valuable pole space with just one sign when you can put three?

I might move to Ireland and go into the sign making business.  There are definitely no shortage of customers.

Warning signs are not unique to Ireland.  Once I returned home I started to notice the warning signs that were posted.  There are quite a few but nothing compares to amount that I saw in Ireland.

Have you seen any interesting signs when you travel?