Causeway's lawyers investigating if new federal rules apply to their funny road signs
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The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Commission is crossing their fingers and toes that new federal guidance for electronic road signs doesn't apply to them.
Driving the news: The Federal Highway Administration's new rule for the road manual says highway signs should be simple, direct and avoid wording "intended to be humorous," Axios' Shauneen Miranda reports.
- States have two years to comply.
What's happening: The Causeway's lawyers are looking into the rules, Causeway general manager Carlton Dufrechou tells Axios New Orleans.
- While the Causeway is incorporated into the federal highway system, Dufrechou says, it doesn't receive federal funds.
- "We know the Causeway commuter better than the federal government. The idea of making this one rule to fit all is not necessarily the best idea."
State of play: The Causeway is the king of funny signs in New Orleans metro. From telling Jim Cantore to stay away to proclaiming "We were robbed" after the no-call Saints game, the signs are a hit with drivers.
- The Causeway allows residents to submit their ideas and features them on "What's Up Wednesdays."
Popular Causeway messages include:
- "Texting and driving? Oh cell no."
- "Seatbelts give the best hugs."
- "Steering wheels are not handsfree devices."
- "Use dat blinkah" (this got a shoutout on NBC's "Today" show).
What he's saying: "We think they're positive and enforce safety awareness," Dufrechou said. "When you can put a little bit of lightness in the messages on the board, they seem to go a lot further."
Meanwhile, Rodney Mallett, a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, tells Axios New Orleans that nothing will change for DOTD's sign strategy under the new rules.
- "We are very much in line with what they are saying," he said, adding that DOTD's messages are road- and safety-related, even if they are clever.
Flashback: The agency started using humor in its messages and social media about 10 years. It does a more lighthearted message on Mondays across the state, Mallett said, if there's not a pressing construction or safety issue like fog or rain.
- Messages include "Winners wear their seatbelts" during sporting events and "Even Santa wears a seatbelt" during the holidays, he said.
- The state has 65 electronic signs on highways. You can view the current messages on 511la.org.
Zoom out: Transportation agencies across the nation have long embraced catchy, clever digital signs. You might have seen these signs out roadtripping.
- Virginia: "Get Your Head out of Your Apps" and "Driving Fast and Furious? That's Ludacris!" (Go deeper)
- Massachusetts: "Use yah blinkah" and "Stay classy Massachusetts." (Go deeper)
- Mississippi: "100 is the temperature not the speed limit" and "Tailgating is for football not highways" and "Slow down and smell the pumpkin spice." (More photos)
- Ohio: "O-H-I-Whoa! Watch your speed."
- Arizona: "I'm just a sign asking a driver to use turn signals."
The big picture: The funny signs seem to work, or at least garner more attention than regular signs, according to a 2021 study by the cognitive research team at Virginia Tech, per NPR.
- Researchers there used a brain mapping helmet to measure prefrontal cortex activity in 300 Virginia drivers in response to signs, writes Karri Peifer at Axios Richmond.
- They found that funny signs, or ones that used wordplay, resulted in more brain activity and therefore indicated drivers were more likely to pay attention to them.
Yes, but: The study did not show whether the signs resulted in better or safer driving, which is kind of the point, federal highway officials have argued, Karri adds.