“Puritanism,” journalist H.L. Mencken said once that “the haunting fear of someone being happy anywhere” is the essence of Puritanism.
God forbid anyone has a lighthearted chuckle while going about their daily routine. You could instead be warned that “UNBUCKLED BELT FINE AND POINTS”.
We didn’t know that there were so many problems. Policy wonks have been busy updating rules, and signs with funny variable messages like these are being thrown away.
It’s the final day of Work Zone Awareness Week and we activated our variable message sign with one final message. Please be mindful of our crews in work zones, give them plenty of space, slow down and move over a lane when possible. You’ll be glad you did and so will we! pic.twitter.com/3KX7a7GCzF
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) April 30, 2021
Is it possible for a state DOT’s variable message sign slogans to be *too* hip? JK, this is great.https://t.co/eDVt9Aihj6 @IDOT_Illinois
— John Greenfield (@greenfieldjohn) October 3, 2019
Variable-message sign be a little extra this weekend 🤣 #California 99 pic.twitter.com/xlFiC21QRs
— Esmeralda Hernandez (@esme_hi5) June 30, 2023
The AP lists more roadside groaners that will soon be banned.
Massachusetts “Use Yah Blinkah”.
“Visiting your in-laws?”
Pennsylvania – “Don’t drive Star Spangled Hammered!”
New Jersey “Hocus Pocus Drive with Focus”
Arizona’s slogan is “Hands off your food, but hands on your wheel”
This latest state-mandated exercise in buzzkill is the work of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which is a part of Pete Buttigieg’s U.S. Department of Transportation. Despite their sarcastic attitudes, they have stopped entertaining roadside signage. Officials were given two years to cease putting up roadside signs.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
In December, the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation issued new guidelines for traffic safety messages. Signs should not use humor or pop culture references.
Federal officials say funny signs are a distraction for drivers.
The federal government wants to remind funny sign writers that VMSs provide timely and important traffic information.
The Federal Highway Administration explains its position in the new edition of the 1,100+ page Manual on Uniform Traffic Control devices. You’ll see that humorous signs are often misunderstood or only understood by small groups.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg described the revised Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as a “vitally important guidebook”. It will help state and local partners make walking, driving, or biking safer. New technology has the potential to enhance our transportation system.
Funny signs are all over social media. There are even videos of the department’s holiday signs.
View this post on Instagram
According to the AP, Arizona has over 300 signs above its highways. Every seven years, the state Department of Transportation hosts a contest for the funniest and most creative messages.
The contest winners were “Seatbelts Pass a Vibration Check” and “I am a simple sign that asks drivers to use their turn signals.”
Can you recall the last time a Leftist laughed? Not a single instance. The closest they come to laughter is when a comedian makes fun of a politician, cultural figure, or performer dressed in drag and does an overtly offensive thing. They have lost their sense of humor.
The FHWA informs state and local traffic officials that the 11th edition of MUTCD was published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2023, with an effective date of January 18, 2024. States must adopt the 11th Edition National MUTCD as the legal standard to control traffic within two years from the effective date. People laugh while you still can.
