Funny Highway Signs Banned in Many States Including New York

The federal government has officially lost its sense of humor when it comes to jokes on highway signs across the country.

If you spend a lot of time driving each day/week/month you've probably come across one of those "light up" highway signs on one of the roads you are cruising on. Often the signs are set up above the road and have messages on them reminding drivers to do specific things like "Buckle Up" or "Don't Drink and Drive". Sometimes the signs will have important local information like "Missing persons" or an "Amber Alert"...

Signs like this can oftentimes be changed to various messages and in some states whoever is in charge of creating the messages tries to show off their sense of humor by posting 'jokey" messages that are aimed at being memorable. Some of the more creative messages that have been seen across the country include ones aimed at pot smokers, "We'll be blunt. Don't drive high.", "Puff, puff? Pass the keys to a designated driver."

There have been a few really funny signs in Boston over the years including one that said, "Changing Lanes? Use Yah Blinkah". Nevada posted one that said "Don't be a Stinker Use Your Blinker" and one of our favorites, "Turn signals, the original instant message."

Federal Highway Administration Ends Joke Signs

The days of seeing signs like those mentioned above will soon be long gone as it appears the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has announced that the times for jokes have ended. The FHA has recently issued new guidance on what is acceptable on highway signs saying, "Signs should avoid language that uses pop-culture references or humor" according to the website Jalopnik.

SEE ALSO: New York State Nearly Tops List of Best Places to Raise a Family

Why Ban Signs Like These?

According to the Department of Transportation, signs like the one above taken on Route 9D near Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY can be dangerous because they oftentimes take longer to read and can cause crashes because drivers are distracted trying to read them. On the other hand, there have been numerous studies conducted that show messages that DO include humor or pop culture references can be good because you're more likely to remember them. States will have until 2026 to remove all humor/jokey type signs according to reports.