On your road travels in the
UK and
Ireland, you might come across the warning sign "
Loose chippings", which indicates that the surface of the road may contain small '
chippings' of stone and pebbles. Often displayed just after a road has been
resurfaced, but in many
rural areas, these chippings can remain on the roads for some time, until the local
council gets around to properly paving it.
When driving on these roads, it's advisable to slow down (20-30 mph), as fast-moving tyres can flick small chippings into the windshield, seomtimes causing the glass to crack/break. Despite being a rare occurence, it's still better to be safe, especially since these sections of road rarely last very long.
Due to its strangely simultaneous ubiquity and obscurity as a traffic sign on many rural roads, the term is also used as a name by various bands, albums, dramatic societies, etc, all over the UK.