Most absurd VMS messages

[Mr_Northside]

Or it needs a comma - "We done, bitches" 
Of course the sign being there, indicates they aren't done.

[Tonytone]

Grammatically incorrect.  Should be "We have done bitches".

XD Wow I think it was refereeing to the Highway Project "We Done Bitches" "We are done bitches". 

[US71]

I saw one on Facebook today

SEND
NUDE
PIX

[GaryV]

Westbound I-696 west of I-75, the sign has been warning of traffic backups on the ramp to Greenfield Rd for the last 3 weeks or so.  You get there, and nothing.

There are some tire skid marks going across 2 lanes into the exit lane at Greenfield.  So maybe there was a backup there at one time.  But if so, it's been long cleared.

[roadman65]

I saw one on Facebook today

SEND
NUDE
PIX

Saw it too.  It reminds me of when some BYU students did it in Utah bashing alternative lifestyles a few years back.

[kphoger]

BYU students did it in Utah

he he, he he.  They did it.  Get it?  he he, he he

[Big John]

Today's WisDOT message:
NONE FOR
THE ROAD
DRIVE SOBER

[busman_49]

Ohio's, about a week ago:
TEXTING & DRIVING
       IS NOT
WRECKOMMENDED

[Max Rockatansky]

One I saw up in Yosemite yesterday on Glacier Point Roar about three miles from the overlook:

SEVERE
ROAD
DAMAGE

ONE
MILE
AHEAD

SLOW
DOWN
(REALLY)

I thought the last line was amusing and actually did the job of grabbing my attention.  Unfortunately my photos of the assembly came out like crap but it was worth a quick laugh.  The damage it was referring to was a minor wash out from the melting snow. 

[Right on Red]

From UDOT:




ADOT:

[GaryV]

Westbound I-696 west of I-75, the sign has been warning of traffic backups on the ramp to Greenfield Rd for the last 3 weeks or so.  You get there, and nothing.

There are some tire skid marks going across 2 lanes into the exit lane at Greenfield.  So maybe there was a backup there at one time.  But if so, it's been long cleared.

I sent a message to MDOT a few weeks back.  The sign got changed to say the potential backups were at Evergreen, not Greenfield.    They mixed up the road name of the exit where the construction was!  I never got an acknowledgement from MDOT.

The newest incarnation is warning of a left lane closure farther west (which does exist).

[Michael]

I saw this on Imgur yesterday.

[Bruce]

Seen in Southwestern Washington on I-5, a few days before Eclipse Day.


Solar Eclipse VMS on I-5 in Washington by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[spooky]

SCHOOL
IS
BACK

KIDS
ARE
BACK

KICK
IT
BACK!!

(no, I don't know what it means either.)

[roadman]

The other night, I passed by a PCMS (portable changeable message sign) that displayed  Night Work Begins  10/28/17  9 PM - 5 AM.

Given that it was 11/6 when I passed the sign, you would think somebody would bother to update it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Touching on what I said earlier in the thread, it seems that Caltrans has been dropping generic messages as of late....at least in the Central Valley.  I've only really seen them on lately when there has been an Amber Alert or if there was some weather related road damage.

[jeffandnicole]

The other night, I passed by a PCMS (portable changeable message sign) that displayed  Night Work Begins  10/28/17  9 PM - 5 AM.

Given that it was 11/6 when I passed the sign, you would think somebody would bother to update it.

Happens all too often.  One near me still announces 10/17 for something.

[GaryV]

I saw one in MI (I-696 probably) with a horrible attempt at poetry.  No meter, and they tried to rhyme Wicked with Ticket.  And it didn't make sense either.

[briantroutman]

I saw this on I-95 entering Delaware from Pennsylvania this afternoon:

GET YOUR
HEAD OUT OF
YOUR APPS

EXIT B4U
TXT IT

[roadman]

I saw one in MI (I-696 probably) with a horrible attempt at poetry.  No meter, and they tried to rhyme Wicked with Ticket.  And it didn't make sense either.

DOT poetry is worse than Vogon poetry.

[jeffandnicole]

I saw this on I-95 entering Delaware from Pennsylvania this afternoon:

GET YOUR
HEAD OUT OF
YOUR APPS

EXIT B4U
TXT IT

It was on 95 North of DE 1 as well.

And their signs have numerous bulbs that don't work as well...which is surprising being that I think they aren't bulbs but rather LED or Fiber Optics, and that sign was recently re-installed.

[theroadwayone]

Reading what I saw on the first two pages about bus VMS's, I'd like to throw something in on that. I've rode MTS buses and trolleys in San Diego. MTS must be the only system in the country (if not the world) where on the front of the bus, the display reads like this:

[Route Number] [Last Stop on Route] and then below that (Via Major Stop or Street #1) then (Via Major Stop or Street #2)

With the SuperLoop, Rapid, and Rapid Express services, the first thing that appears below the last stop is the service name.

When there was a new MTS network change, there'd be something advising passersby on it after the route information, such as when the new transit store opened at 12th and Imperial Ave. downtown, or when the new Compass Cloud app came out. Oftentimes, you'd see support for the local sports teams; "GO CHARGERS!" or "GO PADRES!"

[Big John]

To the pit of misery:

[roadman]

I saw this on I-95 entering Delaware from Pennsylvania this afternoon:

GET YOUR
HEAD OUT OF
YOUR APPS

EXIT B4U
TXT IT

It was on 95 North of DE 1 as well.

And their signs have numerous bulbs that don't work as well...which is surprising being that I think they aren't bulbs but rather LED or Fiber Optics, and that sign was recently re-installed.

LED changeable message signs are constructed with multiple groups of small modules.  Failure of one or more of these modules, which results in a "bulbs-out' effect, is not uncommon, especially with certain manufacturers.  Most older fiber-optic signs are actually a fiber-optic/flip disc combination, whereby the fiber optic illumination is constant to every pixel, and the "on-off" function of the pixel is controlled by the flip-disc element.

Looking at the GSV history images for the CMS on I-95 south just north of DE 1, it appears that the original installation was a fiber-optic/flip disk sign with a walk-in cabinet (back side access), but was recently retrofitted to an LED installation.  There are companies that specialize in this work, but I don't know of any state that has had long term experience with their signs.

[Pink Jazz]

LED changeable message signs are constructed with multiple groups of small modules.  Failure of one or more of these modules, which results in a "bulbs-out' effect, is not uncommon, especially with certain manufacturers.  Most older fiber-optic signs are actually a fiber-optic/flip disc combination, whereby the fiber optic illumination is constant to every pixel, and the "on-off" function of the pixel is controlled by the flip-disc element.

Looking at the GSV history images for the CMS on I-95 south just north of DE 1, it appears that the original installation was a fiber-optic/flip disk sign with a walk-in cabinet (back side access), but was recently retrofitted to an LED installation.  There are companies that specialize in this work, but I don't know of any state that has had long term experience with their signs.

The manufacturer of these retrofit kits is SES America.  ADOT has installed this kits in their SYLVIA fiber optic signs as well.  The key advantage of these kits is that they cost less than 1/3 of a brand new DMS.  The main disadvantage is that they are rated for a 10-15 year service life, vs. a 20-25 year service life for a typical brand new LED DMS.