Hands off Iowa’s funny signs

If we had the authority to put our message on an Iowa Department of Transportation digital highway sign, it might say something like this:

“The U.S. DOT spends billions on roads. But it still can’t buy a sense of humor.”

According to reporting by The Gazette’s Erin Murphy, the Federal Highway Administration told the state of New Jersey to cease putting humorous messages on its digital signs, such as “Slow down. This ain’t Thunder Road,” a reference to Bruce Springsteen. In this case, the feds think they are the boss.

Iowa has been running its own humorous and clever messages on digital signs. A recent message paid homage to the movie “Christmas Vacation.”

“Why is the road wet, Todd?”

“Slow down, Margo.”

Federal officials haven’t said whether Iowa’s signs run afoul of the highway administration’s fun-killers. They won’t say why New Jersey was contacted about its signs.

Research done this year sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that argues witty signs can have “adverse consequences on driving behavior.” The research says humorous pop culture messages increased the percentage of drivers who didn’t understand the message. They’re also distracting, researchers said.

“Given that driving in general also involves visual multitasking and the use of fine motor skills while viewing VMS (variable message signs) messages, these results imply that displaying BTS messages involving humor, wit, or pop culture references could have adverse consequences on driving behavior for motorists who are unable to correctly interpret those messages,” the report said.

This is some pretty thick nanny state bubble wrap. The notion that a clever highway sign is less safe than a boring safety message strikes us as an odd conclusion, to say the least.

And aside from the DOT’s weekly humorous “Roadside Chat” offering, the signs are frequently used to inform drivers of severe weather conditions, accidents, slowdowns and other important information. The signs also provide reports on the number of Iowans killed in accidents so far this year. A safety message can’t get more basic than that.

We see no reason the federal government should act as the heavy-handed highway chuckle patrol, cracking down sign messages many Iowans enjoy. So far, federal officials are leaving Iowa alone. Let’s hope it stays that way.

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