Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — The party may be over for clever and humorous safety tips on message boards installed over Nebraska freeways.
The Federal Highway Administration, in a recent update of a manual on traffic control devices, recommended that states steer clear of messages with humor, double meanings and references to pop culture.
‘Don’t be a clown, put the phone down’
That may spell the end of advisories like “Don’t be a clown, put the phone down” and the Yuletime warning, “Texting and driving will get you on the naughty list,” which have been used in Nebraska.
Messages with obscure meaning, references to popular culture, that are intended to be humorous ... should not be displayed
– Federal Highway Administration
A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Department of Transportation said the department is reviewing the advisory in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Spokeswoman Jeni Campana said NDOT was among the highway agencies involved in putting together the 11th edition of the traffic control manual, but she wouldn’t say if humor was now out.
“NDOT is currently reviewing the MUTCD for changes to be implemented over the course of the next several years.,” Campana told the Examiner. “This includes our review of the messages placed on our overhead boards.”
Began in 2016
The state has been posting safety messages every Friday since 2016. It now has now more than 50 message boards across the state. NDOT has encouraged the public to submit clever phrases that fit the boards, which display three lines of type, 17 characters per line.
Humor and references to current events or pop culture were used, state officials have said, to make the messages more memorable and thus more effective.
The signs are also used to convey some sobering information — an update of the state’s traffic fatalities.
But a 2021 study for the Virginia Department of Transportation found that while funny messages sparked the most brain activity, there was no evidence that it actually changed driver behavior in terms of increased use of safety belts or decreased accidents.
There was also concern that the witty notices might distract drivers, according to the news outlet DCist.
The Federal Highway Administration, in its updated manual, discouraged states from using “messages with obscure meaning, references to popular culture, that are intended to be humorous….”
The agency stated that such messages “can be misunderstood or understood only by a limited segment of road users….”