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Most absurd VMS messages

Started by Pete from Boston, July 10, 2015, 12:27:52 AM

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Pink Jazz

Quote from: GaryV on December 10, 2020, 12:29:39 PM
We saw one on I-696 yesterday

ENDANGERED PERSON
[Car description]
[License plate]

Huh?  What are we supposed to do if we see that red car?  And what does "endangered" mean - they are in immediate peril and we should intervene?  Or someone just wants to know where they are?


Here in Arizona we call these Silver Alerts.  Other states that post Silver Alerts on DMS in addition to Arizona I think are California, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin.  I'm guessing this is new to Michigan.


ilpt4u

Quote from: Pink Jazz on December 10, 2020, 09:05:08 PM
Quote from: GaryV on December 10, 2020, 12:29:39 PM
We saw one on I-696 yesterday

ENDANGERED PERSON
[Car description]
[License plate]

Huh?  What are we supposed to do if we see that red car?  And what does "endangered" mean - they are in immediate peril and we should intervene?  Or someone just wants to know where they are?


Here in Arizona we call these Silver Alerts.  Other states that post Silver Alerts on DMS in addition to Arizona I think are California, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin.  I'm guessing this is new to Michigan.
Illinois does it, too

Driving from Chicagoland to Southern IL on Sat after Thanksgiving, the same Silver Alert message for a vehicle was on every VMS from IL 390's west termination to south of Mt Vernon on I-57 that I drove that night - both ISTHA and IDOT VMSs

GaryV

Given that the last Amber alert I got was from Phoenix (and my wife in the next room didn't get it), I'm not surprised that MI isn't on top of everything.

jeffandnicole

Quote from: Pink Jazz on December 10, 2020, 09:05:08 PM
Quote from: GaryV on December 10, 2020, 12:29:39 PM
We saw one on I-696 yesterday

ENDANGERED PERSON
[Car description]
[License plate]

Huh?  What are we supposed to do if we see that red car?  And what does "endangered" mean - they are in immediate peril and we should intervene?  Or someone just wants to know where they are?


Here in Arizona we call these Silver Alerts.  Other states that post Silver Alerts on DMS in addition to Arizona I think are California, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas, and Wisconsin.  I'm guessing this is new to Michigan.

When NJ started posting them, Grandpa (and yes, I'm using that generically) seemed to get lost...a LOT!  It was getting to the point where every day there was a Silver Alert posted...and NJDOT would post them statewide.  Some days, the alert would say "2 Silver Alerts".  While the law stated they should be mentioned on TV and radio as well, I don't recall any of them ever being broadcasted that way.  And then, for some reason, the VMS alerts dropped dramatically, as if they issued some sort of guideline that dramatically reduced the reasons or timelines of the alerts.

I know I have seen the same license plate posted 2 or 3 times, so apparently that particular family has an issue with Grandpa getting ahold of the keys!

Delaware uses them too, but because they always have to be different, they call them Gold Alerts.

webny99

I've seen signs similar to the ones being discussed, but I don't recall the word "ENDANGERED" specifically ever being used in New York.
General information about alerts here: https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/missing/who-we-are.html
The VMS's usually say:

MISSING ADULT
[Car description]
[License plate]


STLmapboy

I was driving through Iowa City, IA, in July around midnight and I saw this sign on US-218:

MISSING CHILD DAVENPORT IA
[CAR DESCRIPTION]]
[LICENSE PLATE]

And then on the second page

CALL 911
Teenage STL area roadgeek.
Missouri>>>>>Illinois

kphoger

This morning, I saw the below in Wichita:



TRAFFIC DEATHS
UP 5%

* flip *

WEAR SEAT BELTS



And all I could think was, Yeah, and drownings go up in the summer, too.  I mean, we're in a pandemic, and Thanksgiving was just a couple of weeks ago.  Is it any surprise that traffic deaths are up?  If anything, I'd have expected the increase to be more than 5%...
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

MCRoads

Quote from: kphoger on December 11, 2020, 01:04:31 PM
This morning, I saw the below in Wichita:



TRAFFIC DEATHS
UP 5%

* flip *

WEAR SEAT BELTS



And all I could think was, Yeah, and drownings go up in the summer, too.  I mean, we're in a pandemic, and Thanksgiving was just a couple of weeks ago.  Is it any surprise that traffic deaths are up?  If anything, I'd have expected the increase to be more than 5%...
I think I saw somewhere that because of COVID, MVC deaths are DOWN from last year, but I saw that in September, so that might not be true anymore.
I build roads on Minecraft. Like, really good roads.
Interstates traveled:
4/5/10*/11**/12**/15/25*/29*/35(E/W[TX])/40*/44**/49(LA**)/55*/64**/65/66*/70°/71*76(PA*,CO*)/78*°/80*/95°/99(PA**,NY**)

*/** indicates a terminus/termini being traveled
° Indicates a gap (I.E Breezwood, PA.)

more room plz

empirestate

Quote from: webny99 on December 11, 2020, 09:59:05 AM
I've seen signs similar to the ones being discussed, but I don't recall the word "ENDANGERED" specifically ever being used in New York.
General information about alerts here: https://www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/missing/who-we-are.html
The VMS's usually say:

MISSING ADULT
[Car description]
[License plate]

"Vulnerable" is a term we use. NYCEM uses the hashtag #MissingVulnerableAdult in its notices, but also sometimes just #SilverAlert. (I don't know if there's a distinction between the two.)

webny99

Quote from: kphoger on December 11, 2020, 01:04:31 PM
This morning, I saw the below in Wichita:
[snipped]
And all I could think was, Yeah, and drownings go up in the summer, too.  I mean, we're in a pandemic, and Thanksgiving was just a couple of weeks ago.  Is it any surprise that traffic deaths are up?  If anything, I'd have expected the increase to be more than 5%...

Up from when, though?

You might expect traffic deaths around Thanksgiving to be higher compared to a month prior, but in this case, they should certainly still be lower than last Thanksgiving.

kphoger

Quote from: webny99 on December 11, 2020, 04:58:41 PM
Up from when, though?

Well, that was the question my rational mind later asked.

But nobody was around to give me the answer.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

wanderer2575

#636
Quote from: MCRoads on December 11, 2020, 04:08:00 PM
Quote from: kphoger on December 11, 2020, 01:04:31 PM
This morning, I saw the below in Wichita:



TRAFFIC DEATHS
UP 5%

* flip *

WEAR SEAT BELTS



And all I could think was, Yeah, and drownings go up in the summer, too.  I mean, we're in a pandemic, and Thanksgiving was just a couple of weeks ago.  Is it any surprise that traffic deaths are up?  If anything, I'd have expected the increase to be more than 5%...
I think I saw somewhere that because of COVID, MVC deaths are DOWN from last year, but I saw that in September, so that might not be true anymore.

As has been asked, up from when?  Michigan posted its usual monthly death count on VMSs last week and the statewide year-to-date count was up 59 compared to the year-to-date count at the same time in 2019.  (Coincidentally, that's about a 5% increase.)  With near-empty roads for three months back when the pandemic started, and reduced traffic volumes since, one would expect a significant reduction year-to-date over last year.  But maybe I'm not surprised at the increased traffic deaths given the increased number of weaving speed demons I see living out their Fast and the Furious-type fantasies on the Detroit freeways.

formulanone

North of Nashville on I-65, yesterday:


Big John

NO VALENTINE?
YOUR SEAT BELT
WILL HOLD YOU

wanderer2575

Quote from: Big John on February 13, 2021, 11:29:17 AM
NO VALENTINE?
YOUR SEAT BELT
WILL HOLD YOU

Could also be interpreted as  "Be as much of a f*** as you want, you'll be fine if you're wearing a seatbelt, never mind who else might be killed because of your idiocy."  Which goes to show these people need to think twice when coming up with these cutesy phrases.


Rothman

Quote from: wanderer2575 on February 14, 2021, 09:59:12 AM
Quote from: Big John on February 13, 2021, 11:29:17 AM
NO VALENTINE?
YOUR SEAT BELT
WILL HOLD YOU

Could also be interpreted as  "Be as much of a f*** as you want, you'll be fine if you're wearing a seatbelt, never mind who else might be killed because of your idiocy."  Which goes to show these people need to think twice when coming up with these cutesy phrases.
I find that to be an extreme interpretation.  I don't think a whole lot of people would take it as a license to drive recklessly.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

kalvado

Quote from: webny99 on June 07, 2020, 10:48:33 PM
NY has had recently:

WE ARE
NY TOUGH

Not sure if that's specific to upstate, or in use downstate as well.
I really wish I could respond
WELL DONE, GOVERNOR
CAN I GET MEDIUM?



EpicRoadways

Quote from: Rothman on February 14, 2021, 10:16:18 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on February 14, 2021, 09:59:12 AM
Quote from: Big John on February 13, 2021, 11:29:17 AM
NO VALENTINE?
YOUR SEAT BELT
WILL HOLD YOU

Could also be interpreted as  "Be as much of a f*** as you want, you'll be fine if you're wearing a seatbelt, never mind who else might be killed because of your idiocy."  Which goes to show these people need to think twice when coming up with these cutesy phrases.
I find that to be an extreme interpretation.  I don't think a whole lot of people would take it as a license to drive recklessly.
That reminds me of something I saw while driving through Tennessee a few years back that read something like "I-40 CHALLENGE/ STATE TROOPER EVERY 20 MILES". I remember joking with my parents at the time that we should wait to pass the first trooper we see, kick it up to 120 for the next 19 miles, slow back down at mile 20, and do it all over again  :sombrero:

JoePCool14

Quote from: kalvado on February 14, 2021, 11:22:51 AM
Quote from: webny99 on June 07, 2020, 10:48:33 PM
NY has had recently:

WE ARE
NY TOUGH

Not sure if that's specific to upstate, or in use downstate as well.
I really wish I could respond
WELL DONE, GOVERNOR
CAN I GET MEDIUM?

I know this is an older post, and mildly off topic, but I am so tired of the "#(blank)Strong" or "#(blank)Tough" type catchphrase garbage. I've seen it before 2020, but with the virus and political tensions, it's become commonplace now.

It is completely meaningless drivel made to think that the people in charge are actually making a positive difference. No, being apart of a specific state, college, business, or neighborhood does not make me "strong" or "tough" or "brave". My own qualities, independent of where I am and what I associate with, make those characteristics.

Putting it on a VMS is just the cherry on top.

:) Needs more... :sombrero: Not quite... :bigass: Perfect.
JDOT: We make the world a better place to drive.
Travel Mapping | 60+ Clinches | 260+ Traveled | 8000+ Miles Logged

CoreySamson

I posted an intersection in the redesign this intersection thread (288B @ Wilkins in Angleton, TX for those interested) because it's honestly not great. And it appears TxDot attempted to solve it ... with a portable VMS. It said something like this:

HIGH CRASH VOLUME
INTERSECTION AHEAD
--------------------------
USE CAUTION

Earlier in the pandemic, I saw another VMS there that said something about social distancing and masks, but I don't really feel that counts in the cultural climate of today.
Buc-ee's and QuikTrip fanboy. Clincher of FM roads. Proponent of the TX U-turn.

My Route Log
My Clinches

Now on mobrule and Travel Mapping!

tolbs17

Has anyone seen a funny VMS in North Carolina? Here, I have not seen any except the time travel or if there's an accident or AMBER alert, etc.

kphoger

Wichita had recently been using VMS messsages that I think are absurd.  They may not seem that way at first, though, so let me explain.  Here's an example, but there have been others like it:

[ REDUCE TRAFFIC FATALITIES / WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT ]

OK, why put anything on the sign other than just 'wear your seat belt'?  The only reason would be to make the message personal, to make the person think about the potential consequences to himself or loved ones.  After all, the only person whose life is saved by a seat belt is the one wearing that seat belt.

In that light, I think they could have gone with 'your family is waiting for you' or 'arrive alive' or something like that–make people think about their life and those of the ones they love.  But nobody (!) is going to buckle up in order to change what number is at the bottom of a spreadsheet in some state agency's computer.  'Traffic fatalities' is in no way personal.  It's just a number on a spreadsheet.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

webny99

Quote from: kphoger on March 30, 2021, 09:53:48 AMBut nobody (!) is going to buckle up in order to change what number is at the bottom of a spreadsheet in some state agency's computer.  'Traffic fatalities' is in no way personal.  It's just a number on a spreadsheet.

On the other hand, "reducing traffic fatalities" in general isn't an issue that you want to end up on the wrong side of.

snowc

Quote from: Rothman on February 14, 2021, 10:16:18 AM
Quote from: wanderer2575 on February 14, 2021, 09:59:12 AM
Quote from: Big John on February 13, 2021, 11:29:17 AM
NO VALENTINE?
YOUR SEAT BELT
WILL HOLD YOU

Could also be interpreted as  "Be as much of a f*** as you want, you'll be fine if you're wearing a seatbelt, never mind who else might be killed because of your idiocy."  Which goes to show these people need to think twice when coming up with these cutesy phrases.
I find that to be an extreme interpretation.  I don't think a whole lot of people would take it as a license to drive recklessly.
On I295 in VA it says
EASE UP LEADFOOT

empirestate

Quote from: tolbs17 on March 27, 2021, 07:49:04 PM
Has anyone seen a funny VMS in North Carolina? Here, I have not seen any except the time travel or if there's an accident or AMBER alert, etc.

I should think a time traveling VMS would actually be quite droll.



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