The Federal Highway Administration announced new guidelines for Changeable Message Signs a few weeks ago – guidelines that would make “punny” highway signs disappear.
Those are the message boards on the side of the highway that display things like, “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late.” The new guidelines strongly discourage states’ departments of transportation from using funny messages on signs, claiming that they could be a distraction.
To discuss the story, Dr. Tripp Shealy, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, and the lead author of a report commissioned by the Virginia Department of Transportation titled “Driver Response to Dynamic Message Sign Safety Campaign Messages,” joined host Mike Rogers on this week’s Something Offbeat.
Here’s some of what he shared:
“We found that they are more memorable,” Shealy said. “We found that, the majority of people thought that they were appropriate, that they should be displayed. We found that, people went home and talked with their family members over the dinner table about safety.”
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.