Motorway road signs could face branding

Generic road signs for motorway service stations could be altered to incorporate brand names such as Wimpy and Little Chef.

RoadChef, Welcome Break and Moto are lobbying the Highways Agency and the Department for Transport to allow motorway service operators to display branded facility signs instead of symbols of beds, knives and forks and petrol pumps.

"The current signage regulations are totally outdated," said Martin Grant, chief executive of RoadChef. "We believe that changes to signage regulation will more accurately reflect what is available and thus encourage drivers to take more breaks."

At present, operators are able to change their names to incorporate brand names. After RoadChef became RoadChef Costa Coffee in May, transactions increased by 60%.

The Department of Transport recommends that drivers take a 15-minute break with a cup of coffee every two hours.

Research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists reveals that over half of Britain's motorists regularly drive for this amount of time without stopping.

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