Britain: Drivers ignore 'frowning' signs

LONDON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- British transportation officials say digital road signs displaying a frowning face to speeders do little to make drivers slow down.

The rectangular black signs, featured on more than 1,000 roads, were widely ignored after being installed, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The signs proved to have only a "novelty effect" on most drivers, who soon returned to higher speeds, a study from the Transport Research Laboratory found.

Police and transportation officials initially favored the frowning signs to reduce speeding because those signs cost about $6,000 each as compared to $40,000 for a traffic radar camera, the Telegraph reported.