PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Federal Highway Administration played the Grinch last year telling New Jersey to stop posting safety messages like, "Nice car. Did it come with turn signals?" on its variable message signs.
"FHWA a year ago was concerned that the signs may have been too edgy or too distracting," said State Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.
But this year, the holiday safety messages are back.
"I wouldn't say we toned them down,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said.
She says they kind of adjusted their focus to the season that we're in with more safety-focused messages like, “Ho, Ho, Ho, please drive slow,” and “Reckless drivers are worse than fruitcake.”
Eight messages started rotating on New Jersey's 224 variable message signs on Saturday.
"I know personally, whether it's my family members or friends, they love them,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “I think I have at least one family member who is going to purposely look for every sign that we have — every message."
Gutierrez-Scaccetti says there's no data to show how effective the effort is, but she hopes a message saying, “Don’t be a Grinch, let them merge," will remind drivers to give the gift of courtesy.
And Pennsylvania is getting into the act, too, with holiday safety messages like, "Only Rudolph Should Drive Lit."