interstate and there's a good chance you will see a pun or a funny. “We’re always interested in innovative ways that are going to help us reach our goal of zero fatalities on our roads,” Gleason said. Highway sign that reads, 'Puff, puff Pass the keys to a designated driver.' Sam Dunklau/NPR Illinois Drive down any U.S. This upsurge has led the Department of Transportation to start installing detection and warning systems in 20 different locations across the state. At the beginning of last year, the Utah Highway Patrol reported an 82% increase of wrong-way drivers. Wrong-way driving has been a dangerous problem on Utah roads, causing 127 crashes and 10 deaths last year. For example, it recently invested $2.5 million in protection against wrong-way driving. That’s why the department decided to take a break from creative road signs and shift its focus to other methods of promoting safe driving. “But like anything,” Gleason said, “when you’ve done it for a long period of time, people can get used to it and it just becomes something that people aren’t focusing on as much anymore.” In fact, it received a slew of positive feedback. Seems rather obvious that one would look at a railroad crossing. Utah’s transportation department heard no such criticism. This New Zealand street sign reminds me of the childs story about The Little Engine that Could. There the agency saw the practice as distracting and hazardous and asked highway officials to stop. See more ideas about funny road signs, signs, road signs. In New Jersey, the Federal Highway Administration didn’t find efforts to spice up safety reminders funny or effective, per The Washington Post. Explore Judith Cameron's board 'Funny Road Signs', followed by 1,074 people on Pinterest. “And so that’s why we thought that if we could get people talking about it and thinking about it, that that would create action.” “The intent was to create a conversation about safe driving behaviors and maybe bring a little levity to a very serious subject,” Gleason said. Credit: Utah Department of Transportation. Buckle up,” another said around Mother’s Day. A Utah freeway sign humorously reads: Turn signals, the original instant message. “Pledge allegiance to driving focused,” one sign said in July. There are more than 91,000 Vectors, Stock Photos & PSD files. Traffic Management Shirt - Funny TMO TShirt, Gift For Traffic Operative, TM T Shirt, Work on the Road Gifts, Signs Cones Lights Safety Tee. They’ve thrown puns, pop culture references and allusions to upcoming holidays into reminders to buckle up, focus on the road and drive sober. You can find & download the most popular Funny Traffic Signs Vectors on Freepik. Members of the Department of Transportation had been using humor to make their freeway signs more memorable for about seven years. “I think people just got so used to seeing them that it may be a case where people don’t even notice that they’re not there anymore,” Gleason said. The Utah Department of Transportation stopped displaying jokes on its electronic signs about four months ago, but spokesperson John Gleason says he hasn’t heard anyone say anything about it. You may have noticed a lack of silly signs like these as you drive along I-15 in Utah. As of now, there’s no specific, formal law or regulation against these messages.“Calm down, Hulk. However, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Transportation Research Board recommends against funny messages based on their own research. That is, until the state was forced to remove the messages after Robert Clark of the Federal Highway Administration told it to “cease and desist.”Ĭlark’s argument was that employing funny messages “does not serve a highway purpose, is inconsistent with both law and regulations.” Tripp Shealy at Virginia Tech says research finds that the funny messages are effective because they make drivers further engage their brains. In late 2022, the New Jersey Department of Transportation started using humorous messages that were so funny, they garnered a lot of social media attention. Federal officials including members of the Federal Highway Administration have spoken out and in some cases even taken action against these humorous messages, saying they are dangerous because they distract drivers. Ever been in a monotonous drive on a state highway or freeway and see one of those changeable message signs, but it actually said something funny instead of the standard “buckle up and drive the speed limit”? You probably paid better attention to it because it was funny and unique, but is that a good or a bad thing?Īccording to the federal government, it’s a bad thing. Federal authorities are ordering New Jersey state’s transportation department to pull the plug on cutesy messages on digital signs on the roads.
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