The problem of sign thefts

[route56]

It must be a slow news day at the Lawrence Journal-World. This morning's front-page story is about that age-old problem of sign thefts:

http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2011/nov/13/city-hard-pressed-stop-sign-thefts/

According to the article, the most common signs that were stolen were street blades (84 total). The most popular street blade - High Drive (I guess that makes sense, given that Kansas does not have a highway numbered 420) 

Of course, the problem of stolen stop signs - 56 - is the biggest problem in the sign shop.

Fortunately, there have not been any accidents attributed to sign thefts.

[formulanone]

I recall a couple of teens in central Florida that were charged with manslaughter for stealing stop signs, because a fatal accident occurred because one driver ran an intersection that was supposed to have one of those said signs. I think this was around 1996-98 or so, along Lithia-Pinecrest Road or something around that area.


Edit: Link - http://www.usroads.com/journals/rilj/0110/ri011001.htm

[ctsignguy]

Several years ago, i was visiting the Rhode Island DOT Sign Shop outside Providence trying to finagle a few trades of my brand new blanks for old used Rhody signs.  Ken who was the head of the shop was telling me about a recent case there where a couple of kids were busted in East Providence for cutting down a sign (He didnt say what kind of sign it was but i am suspecting it may have been a STOP)  Anyway, he said that in the old days, you were caught chopping a sign, the cops would haul you to the station, kick your ass for a few hours, then send you home with a stern "Don't EVER do that again!!!" and that would be the end of it (leaving aside parental judgement).  As for THESE kids, he said, the local prosecutor wanted to throw the book at them....up to 5 years in jail and $5,000 in fines.....

A shame that young lives are ruined for what, in years gone by, was a childish prank....but this also had to be balanced against the risk to the public if the missing sign was vital to safety....

[Quillz]

Sign theft was apparently the reason California renumbered CA-69 to CA-245. And was a major reason why US-666 was eventually renumbered to US-491.

[realjd]

When I was in college, people kept stealing the "SPEED HUMP" signs on some of the campus roads. They ended up using one-way breakaway nuts, various epoxies, welding the nuts on, and other drastic measures to keep the signs there.

[hbelkins]

Sign theft problems around here aren't for any specific number, but so people can sell the metal for scrap.

[US71]

Sign theft problems around here aren't for any specific number, but so people can sell the metal for scrap.

Keep an eye on the I-69 signs

[hbelkins]

There has never really been a problem with the KY 69 signs in that part of the state. I don't know if that route will be renumbered or not.

[Eth]

I can't say for certain that this is the reason, but it is notable that 69 is the only unused two-digit route number in Georgia.

[Alps]

When I was in college, people kept stealing the "SPEED HUMP" signs on some of the campus roads. They ended up using one-way breakaway nuts, various epoxies, welding the nuts on, and other drastic measures to keep the signs there.

Was it too hard to use the word BUMP?

[hbelkins]

Or "Table?"

Kingsport, Tenn.:

[Ian]

Or "LUMP?"

[xcellntbuy]

"Speed humps" is another term used that my school district calls a series of four asphalt strips across driving lanes in our parking lots.  I specify it in the bids I write.

[US71]

Or "Table?"

Kingsport, Tenn.:

Ditto Fayetteville, AR

[Alps]

Speed Lump? Never seem that before, but it sounds squishy and not really like a TCD.
Speed Table is different because it has a flat stretch on top. Like a table, yes. It's like a speed *ump where you stretch the two halves apart. In fact, some speed tables are used for crosswalks or entire intersections.

[Duke87]

I believe it's a question of scale. A speed hump is fairly large. A speed bump is smaller and requires you to slow down more. Of course, I've seen ones which I would call humps referred to as bumps. Perhaps due to the unfortunate coincidental other meaning of "speed hump".

Speed "lump" is a new one on me, though. Is it sitting alone in a boggy marsh?

[r-dub]

Colorado has its fair share of sign thefts, too--most notably the Mile 69 sign. Why they don't go after the SH 69 sign is beyond me.

CDOT wised up and stopped using MM 69 signs in favor of these:

Found on SH 125 north of Walden.

Gotta admit, I was tempted to steal it just to mess with someone's mind... 

[Takumi]

I'd rather have that sign. It's actually an original idea.

[Brian556]

I've noticed that, in my area, nobody really ever steals signs anymore. Back in the 90's, the problem was so bad that a good portion of the street name blades in the nieghborhood would be missing at any given time.

Of course, looking at the big picture, juvenile delinquency peaked in the early 90's (example: 1992 Cowboys victory parade riots), mostly due to broken families /lousy parenting. Since them, steps have been taken to work on the problem, with much sucess. I know many of us think everthing is getting progressivly worse, but this is one of the things that has gotten better.

[1995hoo]

Electric Avenue in Dunn Loring, Virginia, suffered a massive rash of street sign thefts back in the early 1980s when that horrible song was a hit.

If I were to want to steal a road sign, I'd probably want a Mexican "topes" sign. Anyone who has been there know why. I hate topes, but I love the sign.

[formulanone]

Electric Avenue in Dunn Loring, Virginia, suffered a massive rash of street sign thefts back in the early 1980s when that horrible song was a hit.

And then they took it higher?

[oscar]

Back when Christine Whitman was New Jersey's governor, a rest area on I-295 was renamed for Howard Stern (she was a big fan of the shock jock).  That sign, showing Stern peering out from behind a tree, reportedly was stolen almost immediately, and was never replaced.

[deathtopumpkins]

Speed "lump" is a new one on me, though. Is it sitting alone in a boggy marsh?

Nice reference. 

[ctsignguy]

There has never really been a problem with the KY 69 signs in that part of the state. I don't know if that route will be renumbered or not.

In Ohio, Ohio 69 was decommissioned in 1968 and replaced by Ohio 4 which ran concurrently already from Dayton to I-70, and Ohio 235 which was extended north of I-70.  According to an ODOT manager i spoke with back in 1992, the final straw was when a high-ranking engineer rode Ohio 69 from Dayton to its north end (around 125 miles or so give or take) and saw only THREE individual shields the entire way (not including BGS)!  Plus it had the misfortune of passing through or near several colleges and universities which probably didn't help matters much...

[sandwalk]

In my part of Ohio, road signs for 'Lovers Lane' and 'Gore Orphanage Road' were always stolen.  And where I'm at currently in Illinois, Boone County only abbreviates 'Bloods Point Road' signs to read 'BL PT Road' because of thefts.