Roadchef said yesterday that figures showing more people were stopping at its motorway service areas since they were rebranded under the Roadchef Costa Coffee label supported its calls for changes to what it described as Britain's "antiquated" regulations governing road signs.

The company, which operates 29 of Britain's 80-plus service areas, said that since the rebranding in May this year, transactions had risen by between 15,000 and 25,000 a week.

Roadchef wants the government to change the 50-year-old regulations that prevent more than one company logo being used on signs for motorway services. It argues such a change would encourage more people to break their journeys - in line with government road safety policy.

"If we were allowed to put more information, such as the relevant brand names rather than the peculiar hieroglyphics we are forced to use, we would get more people to turn off," said Roadchef chief executive Martin Grant.

Roadchef said the Department of Transport recommended that drivers on long trips should take a 15-minute coffee break every two hours to reduce fatigue. Research shows more than half of motorists drive for longer without a break and more than 25% drive for more than four hours without stopping.

If motorway service operators were allowed to go further by showing the logo of the service provider rather than just the service, "it would make motorways safer by getting more people to turn off", Mr Grant said. "I'm not saying I want more boards or bigger boards but to change what goes on to make them more relevant."

A Highways Agency spokesman said: "The reason the regulations are there is to prevent a proliferation of signs that might distract drivers."

He suggested that operators could install signs within the service station itself, rather than on the motorway.