The feds may want quip-free highway signs, but the Nebraska Department of Transportation still wants to provide freeway funnies.
The state agency chose April Fool’s Day to submit droll and pithy highway safety slogans for those overhead electronic message signs along interstate highways in Nebraska.
“The more creative, the better,†NDOT said in a press release Monday.
Messages may be submitted through a page on the agency’s website, . The best ones will be included in the agency’s “Friday Safety Messages,†slated for use on the signs this summer and fall. The Iowa Department of Transportation in March for its “Roadside Chat†signs.
States around the country have long used quirky messaging to draw the attention of drivers. Among them: “Use Yah Blinkah†in Massachusetts; “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late†from Ohio; “Don’t drive Star Spangled Hammered†from Pennsylvania; “Hands on the wheel, not your meal†from Arizona; and “Don’t Fly Through Nebraska, Slow Down†from Nebraska.
Submissions are limited to three lines of text, 18 characters each, and must be related to traffic safety. Suggested topics include distracted driving, impaired driving, work zone safety, seat belt use and winter driving.
Themes tied to current events such as sporting news, movie releases and holidays are encouraged. The state agency said submissions that are defamatory, obscene, indecent, harassing, bullying, threatening or unlawful will be disqualified.
“Only submit ideas you would be comfortable explaining to your kids or your grandma,†the press release said.
Submissions will be accepted through April 30. They’ll be judged by a group representing NDOT’s traffic engineering, public relations and social media teams, said Jeni Campana, a spokeswoman for the agency.
She said the idea is to get drivers thinking about road safety. The last such contest, in 2018, drew about 800 entries.
“It’s something we wanted to bring back,†Campana said.
She said the event was already in the works when the Federal Highway Administration issued new guidelines that discouraged posting sign messages with funny or obscure slogans, or references to pop culture.
Instead, the federal agency said, signs should be “simple, direct, brief, legible and clear,†when relaying important information like warning drivers of crashes overhead, adverse weather conditions and traffic delays. Seat belt reminders and warnings about the dangers of speeding or driving impaired are allowed.
The guidelines prompted a flurry of news stories — and from members of Congress.
showed that 4.5% more accidents occurred on Texas highways just after drivers passed signs with electronic messages showing traffic death tolls than at similar times when the signs were blank.
“There is reason and evidence to suggest that signs can distract drivers,†Joshua Madsen, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota who co-authored the study, in Minneapolis-St. Paul in January.
Campana said other studies have shown that certain types of safety messages can be beneficial, and state officials decided to go ahead with their plans.
“We really wanted to have an opportunity to engage with the public,†she said.
“The other times we’ve done it, the submissions were fabulous. I can’t wait to see what we get.â€
This article includes material from the Associated Press.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation is asking the public to submit droll, pithy slogans for its Friday Safety Message program. Selected slogans will be displayed later this year on 79 electronic message signs that span Nebraska’s interstate highways.