By Joseph Morales

    Roadways in New York City and its suburbs are notorious for its congestion during rush hours. While many New Yorkers ride public transit to work, about 50% drive according to a Bloomberg article from 2019. Despite high transit use in the region, five New York area highways cracked Yahoo Finance writer Zarah Hamid’s top 20 most congested highways in America list. This included several major thoroughfares such as the George Washington Bridge and Long Island Expressway. 

                Given how hard it can be to drive in our area, many drivers are tempted to violate traffic laws to save time. According to NYPD data, 130,821 summonses were issued to motorists in the last three months of 2023. In addition, drunk driving is also a major issue that puts the safety of motorists, pedestrians and other road users at risk. During a 2023 legislative hearing, the NY State Police testified than 7,000 alcohol-related crashes occurred in 2022 and 335 people died. This represented a 30% increase in deaths from 2019 and was more deaths than in the 2015 Paris Terrorist attacks.

               As a result, New York, New Jersey and many other states across the country have tried using unique highway signage to get motorists to correct their behavior. On electronic signs used for advisories, there would sometimes be humorous messages to discourage specific types of traffic violations. During the holidays in New York, it was common to see signs saying “No Trucks or Sleighs” to prevent oversize vehicles on state parkways due to low overpasses. Additionally, signage stating “Designated Driver is best NYE Date” was used to prevent drunk driving on New Year’s Eve, a night synonymous with parties and bar patronage for many. New Jersey had been more active and even more humorous with these methods for longer. According to NorthJersey.com, this recent holiday season included messages like “Only Rudolph should be lit, drive high get DUI.” and “Don’t be a grinch, let them merge.” Non-holiday messages have included “We’ll be blunt, don’t drive high.” and “Get your head out of your apps.”

                 Now, the Federal Highway Administration has strongly recommended to states not to use funny signage to encourage safe driving. The FHWA is not banning the signs as certain generally reliable news sites such as the NorthJersey.com have claimed. This agency made its reccomendation because they claim that this type of signage should be more simple and clear to drivers. More specifically, they feel that these signs often could be “misunderstood or understood by a limited segment of road users.” They also argue that these signs could take drivers longer to understand. Rather than be funny, the FHWA recconmends that signage include applicable penalties for traffic violations and be coordinated with other enforcement and outreach tactics.

               So do these signs help get important messages across or do they cause distracted driving? There is not much data of any kind demonstrating the effectiveness of funny signage neither in the NY Metro Region or in the United States. However, a study from Virginia Tech done in January 2020 showed that generally humorous “non-traditional” messages can be effective effective. While the messaging itself may be understood, the sign may be getting drivers to forget about its purpose. Back in 2022, signs in New Jersey got so much attention that the New Jersey Department of Transportation(NJDOT) felt the need to remind people on social media not to take pictures of the signs while driving. Back then, then FHWA also told the state to stop using the signs for the same reason they stated in their manual this time around. They even argued that the signs were not authoritative enough and that drivers might treat them as a suggestion similar to advertising. 

               How drivers feel the signs work is likely based on their interpretations as well as their perspectives on how other people may take to the signs. Some likely find the signs too funny for their purpose while others might see it as just what motorists need to drive safer. Other drivers may even argue that the signs are not necessary and that all drivers should know the rules of the road. It is worth noting that when NBC4 New York interviewed NJ drivers on the funny signs in 2022, the response was pretty mixed. Motorist Greg Raimann from Seaside Park, NJ told reporters, “I think they’re good. I think they’re catchy and they get people’s attention.” On the flipside, Dominick Moretti from Galloway, NJ said, “It’s kinda like they’re making rhymes and fun at something others might think differently about.” 

          Both sides likely have substantial credence. At one end as shown by the Virginia Tech study, they can get drivers to adopt better driving habits. On the other hand, it may make fun at something people believe should not be taken lightly, especially considering how many people die in crashes every year. In 2021, 42,939 people died in traffic incidents in the United States according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This equates to the loss of many lives as well as pain and sufferring for thousands more who knew these victims and still use our nation’s roadways daily.  Regardless of opinion, the FHWA’s argument is likely because ultimately, the purpose of electronic signs is for all drivers to understand the rules of the road. Whether or not they choose to follow these rules is likely another issue. This is one that is often addressed by law enforcement agencies through enforcement and by transportation departments via better road designs. 

            As the FHWA is a federal agency, they are likely considering the needs of the entire country when making road reccomendations. As many drivers in the U.S use interstate highways and cross state lines, the agency likely wants to prevent states from using local cultural references in these highway signs. This is something New Jersey did when they used “Slow down. This ain’t Thunder Road” on a sign which refers to a song from NJ-born rock star Bruce Springsteen. In Ohio, this approach backfired on transportation officials when they had used a reference from a 1983 movie filmed in Cleveland. Ohio Department of Transportation Press Secretary Matt Bruning told NPR that the agency believed that most people had seen the movie but found that many people did not understand the signs. They then pulled the messaging off of electronic billboards upon this discovery.

             Also the agency’s concerns about drivers ability to process the information is an issue that by itself could cause danger on the road, even without them being significantly distracted. All motorists likely agree that driving especially on highways requires spilt second decisions. This is why common road signs such as stop signs are designed to require as little attention as possible to understand. Given how electronic signs already take more time to process, the FHWA likely does not want to make it harder than it needs to be. 

             As the era of humorous highway signs is likely closing, state transportation departments and other agencies will likely look to new ways to encourage safe driving. Chances are more direct, less funny signs will be back on roadways and there is some hope that drivers still get the memo. A study done by the FHWA on electronic signs as a whole showed that 54% of drivers changed their behavior upon seeing signage. 

                Due to the limitations of signs, New York and New Jersey have attempted several other measures to increase safe driving habits. In the past several years, State Police in both New York and New Jersey have held specific crackdowns on various behaviors such as speeding and texting while driving. One speeding crackdown in New York saw police give 23,000 speeding tickets and 32,170 for other violations such as distracted and impaired driving during a week in 2021. In April 2022, police departments across New Jersey distributed more than 250 texting tickets and another 125 careless driving tickets daily during the U Text U Drive U Pay crackdown. Outside of police enforcement, New York implemented speeding cameras in work zones in November of last year. In the first six months of ticketing, the tickets issued more than 100,000 tickets. While New Jersey law bans cameras, State Police there have implemented speed traps there where police hide in certain areas to catch speeders. While these tactics both have their pros and cons, they both demonstrate a clear intent to get motorists to follow the law. This is something the FHWA felt the witty highway signs failed to provide.

                 Overall, the states will likely want to use a variety of tactics to make driving in their states as safe and convenient for motorists as possible. As the issue of safe driving effects everyone, solutions are needed to ensure that others do not lose their lives to avoidable traffic collisions. Hopefully, New York and New Jersey find new ways to encourage safe driving so that people can safely get around the region for years to come.

Works Cited

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