The news that Shropshire County Council wants to invest £40,000 on road safety signs should be greeted with delight, writes Andy Richardson.

Highways chiefs want to spend cash on a vehicle-activated system in an attempt to reduce the number of fatal accidents. It’s not a moment to soon.

Shropshire’s roads are lethal. Each district has tales of woe and tragedy.

Nightly, the county’s residents pick up their newspapers to learn the details of the latest victim.

Like many motorists, I don’t profess to be an angel of the highway.

Though my licence is clean now, it bears the scars of past misdemeanours.

I’ve been guilty of travelling at excess speed and have endeavoured to ameliorate my driving.

As a reporter, I’ve seen the downside of bad driving. I’ve interviewed the bereaved relatives of road collisions on too many occasions to remember.

Working in Ludlow for many years provided me with salutary lessons on the importance of road safety, as people came to grief on the A49, Corvedale Road and in other areas.

There were innumerable tragedies involving people of all ages and from all backgrounds. Death did not discriminate.

Of course, the litany of woe doesn’t end. Only this week, there were two more victims on county roads. Each incident brought with it an immeasurable human and financial cost.

To make our roads safer, we need constant reminders not to slip into bad habits. We know there are idiotic motorists out there – shropshirestar.com has in the past month has screened remarkable footage of drivers behaving badly and travelling at excessive speed.

The answer, surely, is increased awareness among motorists, greater enforcement by police and a more sensible approach from drivers.

Shropshire County Council’s new initiative won’t solve the problem, but it could save a life.

And that’s worth every penny of the £40,000 cost.

The county council will decide next week whether to invest money in its road safety campaign.

It’s to be hoped it values the lives of motorists and pedestrians as highly as its council tax payers do.