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Tuesday, 5 December, 2000, 15:11 GMT

Bilingual signs 'no danger'

The Welsh Assembly has confirmed that it has spent Ł53,000 on a research programme to find if bilingual signs cause problems to drivers.

According to the draft report which has just reached Cardiff, there is no difference in the time taken by drivers to absob bilingual information.

Assembly officials have been considering using new electronic signs on the M4 which would display bilingual text and pictograms - but there was concern about the effect the increased amount of text would have on drivers.

The Assembly commissioned a study by the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds at a cost of Ł53,000.

According to an Assembly spokesman, the completed report is expected at the end of next week.

It is proposed that the signs will be used between junctions 25 and 36 on the M4. Rollout of the signs is expected to begin in Spring 2002.

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