Most absurd VMS messages

[Rothman]

We had a few VMS messages in the Boston area themed for yesterday's date (May 4th):

THERE IS NO TRY
-------------------
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT YOU WILL


THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

As someone who basically knows nothing about Star Wars, both of these VMS messages do nothing more than to confuse me.

Sounds like you need to learn about Star Wars.

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, so we should stop displaying nanny messages.

Pfft.  Killjoy.

[Dirt Roads]

We had a few VMS messages in the Boston area themed for yesterday's date (May 4th):

THERE IS NO TRY
-------------------
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT YOU WILL


THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

As someone who basically knows nothing about Star Wars, both of these VMS messages do nothing more than to confuse me.

Sounds like you need to learn about Star Wars.

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, so we should stop displaying nanny messages.

"I find your lack of faith [in the DOT] disturbing" - Darth VDOT

[abefroman329]

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, sohttps://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?board=35.0 we should stop displaying nanny messages.

If I have to pick between the two, I'll pick (a).  IDOT's messages since recreational cannabis was legalized have been pure cringe (puff puff pass the keys to another driver, or something similar).

[kphoger]

IDOT's messages since recreational cannabis was legalized have been pure cringe (puff puff pass the keys to another driver, or something similar).

Now I'm imagining a driver "puff puff" -ing while driving, then switching seats with the passenger while driving down the East-West Toll Road.

[jeffandnicole]

We had a few VMS messages in the Boston area themed for yesterday's date (May 4th):

THERE IS NO TRY
-------------------
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT YOU WILL


THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

As someone who basically knows nothing about Star Wars, both of these VMS messages do nothing more than to confuse me.

Sounds like you need to learn about Star Wars.

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, so we should stop displaying nanny messages.

I have not watched Star Wars either.  But it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages: Wear your seat belt and slow down. 

If I'm wrong, is it all that wrong that the incorrect message the motorist figured out was wear your seat belt and slow down?

[kphoger]

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages ... slow down. 

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

[abefroman329]

IDOT's messages since recreational cannabis was legalized have been pure cringe (puff puff pass the keys to another driver, or something similar).

Now I'm imagining a driver "puff puff" -ing while driving, then switching seats with the passenger while driving down the East-West Toll Road.

The REAGAN Tollway.  REAGAN.

And if you're gonna do that, you probably want to swap seats before puffing.  Of course, "pass the keys to the driver, puff, puff" doesn't have the same ring to it.

[kphoger]

The REAGAN Tollway.  REAGAN.

Not to me.  I was using 88 from 1999 to 2006, and it only changed names in 2004.  Even then, it's not like people started calling it by a different name:  it was still the East-West Tollway.  I didn't even know it had taken the name Reagan until I joined this forum several years later and wasn't even living in Illinois anymore.

Besides which...
https://goo.gl/maps/8KenN3kEgqYSwJAb9
https://goo.gl/maps/RKBjKUkRFNsTwPpq9
(I realize those aren't actually shown as road names, but they reinforce the old name in my mind.)

[kalvado]

We had a few VMS messages in the Boston area themed for yesterday's date (May 4th):

THERE IS NO TRY
-------------------
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT YOU WILL


THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

As someone who basically knows nothing about Star Wars, both of these VMS messages do nothing more than to confuse me.

Sounds like you need to learn about Star Wars.

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, so we should stop displaying nanny messages.

I have not watched Star Wars either.  But it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages: Wear your seat belt and slow down. 

If I'm wrong, is it all that wrong that the incorrect message the motorist figured out was wear your seat belt and slow down?

Ma'am, 101 is the road numerical designation, not the speed limit...

[Rothman]

IDOT's messages since recreational cannabis was legalized have been pure cringe (puff puff pass the keys to another driver, or something similar).

Now I'm imagining a driver "puff puff" -ing while driving, then switching seats with the passenger while driving down the East-West Toll Road.

The REAGAN Tollway.  REAGAN.

And if you're gonna do that, you probably want to swap seats before puffing.  Of course, "pass the keys to the driver, puff, puff" doesn't have the same ring to it.

(Washington National Airport...)

[Scott5114]

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages ... slow down. 

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Or, worse, imagine you actually understand it. "The Kessel Run in 12 parsecs is too fast...well, I don't know what a Kessel Run is, but I know a parsec is a unit of distance..."

[jeffandnicole]

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages ... slow down. 

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Which would mean most other messages would be hard to understand also.

[kalvado]

Feel free to snooze here on weekends.

[kalvado]

And another one from COVID days:

Well done, Governor!

[Dirt Roads]

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

it seems pretty easy to figure out the messages ... slow down. 

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Or, worse, imagine you actually understand it. "The Kessel Run in 12 parsecs is too fast...well, I don't know what a Kessel Run is, but I know a parsec is a unit of distance..."

It's not like any Legislature, DOT or police force actually cares about the technical difference between speed and velocity either.   

[kphoger]

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Which would mean most other messages would be hard to understand also.

*sigh*

For someone for whom English is a second language, tell me which is easier to understand:

SPEEDING KILLS /
OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST /
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

[jeffandnicole]

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Which would mean most other messages would be hard to understand also.

*sigh*

For someone for whom English is a second language, tell me which is easier to understand:

SPEEDING KILLS /
OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST /
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

You realize that Kessel and Parsecs aren't English words, right?

Ask the numerous people that drove by it whom English is a second language.  You're assuming that they have no idea what the movie lines are, or what their knowledge of the English language is.  Would you know how to translate 'Speed Kills' in other languages if you quickly passed by it on a highway sign in a foreign country?  I would probably want to know what the word for 'Bathroom' is in a foreign land. I'm not going to go out of my way to learn what 'kills' or 'obey' translates into, unless I'm trying to more fully understand the language.

The people that generally dislike these signs are those whom English is a first language.  I don't know if there's any data which shows road signage with unusual messages causes confusion for others.

[Scott5114]

I mean, part of the problem is that "the Kessel run in 12 parsecs" made no sense in the source work either...

Actually, I'd say that public safety messages like this shouldn't refer to pop culture/works of fiction at all. Unless it's part of the school curriculum, there's no guarantee that any given motorist has consumed some bit of media, and without the needed context the message is likely to not be readily understood.

[kalvado]

Now imagine you struggle to understand the English language.

Which would mean most other messages would be hard to understand also.

*sigh*

For someone for whom English is a second language, tell me which is easier to understand:

SPEEDING KILLS /
OBEY THE SPEED LIMIT

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST /
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

You realize that Kessel and Parsecs aren't English words, right?

Ask the numerous people that drove by it whom English is a second language.  You're assuming that they have no idea what the movie lines are, or what their knowledge of the English language is.  Would you know how to translate 'Speed Kills' in other languages if you quickly passed by it on a highway sign in a foreign country?  I would probably want to know what the word for 'Bathroom' is in a foreign land. I'm not going to go out of my way to learn what 'kills' or 'obey' translates into, unless I'm trying to more fully understand the language.

The people that generally dislike these signs are those whom English is a first language.  I don't know if there's any data which shows road signage with unusual messages causes confusion for others.

In general, some confusion is not a problem as worst thing it can cause is some slowdown. And that is intention anyway. More likely keyword "speed" is well understood and ignored regardless. 

As for irritating messages, "Canaan toll booths ahead" is my personal top one.

[Scott5114]

You realize that Kessel and Parsecs aren't English words, right?

par·sec /ˈpärsek/ noun: parsec; plural noun: parsecs
a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years (3.086 × 1013 kilometers). One parsec corresponds to the distance at which the mean radius of the earth's orbit subtends an angle of one second of arc.

[Henry]

I just thought up a great message for VMSes near Wrigley Field:

HEY CHICAGO
WHAT DO
YOU SAY?
-------------------------
WE'RE GONNA
BUCKLE UP
TODAY

[jeffandnicole]

You realize that Kessel and Parsecs aren't English words, right?

par·sec /ˈpärsek/ noun: parsec; plural noun: parsecs
a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years (3.086 × 1013 kilometers). One parsec corresponds to the distance at which the mean radius of the earth's orbit subtends an angle of one second of arc.

https://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=parsec

And check it out in French, German, etc. It's used in multiple languages.

[Scott5114]

https://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=parsec

And check it out in French, German, etc. It's used in multiple languages.

It still doesn't make any sense even if you know what the word means, though.

[kphoger]

THE KESSEL RUN IN 12 PARSECS IS TOO FAST
----------------------------------------------------
DROP OUT OF LIGHT SPEED

More likely keyword "speed" is well understood and ignored regardless. 

Not that the word "speed" (or "slow") was even used in the message to begin with, except in "light speed"...

And understanding "12" and "too fast" doesn't help at all.

Actually, I'd say that public safety messages like this shouldn't refer to pop culture/works of fiction at all. Unless it's part of the school curriculum, there's no guarantee that any given motorist has consumed some bit of media, and without the needed context the message is likely to not be readily understood.

Precisely.  Which is why I said...

Or the department needs to choose between the following two options:

  (a)  A large subset of the population won't understand this message, so–in the interest of public safety–we should stop trying to be cute.

  (b)  These messages have no real impact on safety anyway, so we should stop displaying nanny messages.

Of course, (b) might actually be closer to the truth...

[empirestate]

Actually, I'd say that public safety messages like this shouldn't refer to pop culture/works of fiction at all. Unless it's part of the school curriculum, there's no guarantee that any given motorist has consumed some bit of media, and without the needed context the message is likely to not be readily understood.

This is where many people (not me) would butt in and say ITS JUST COMMON SENSE.

And of course you've explained above why that is a flawed argument, because common sense is only common to those with a common experience.

(On the other hand, we do find we often have to live by certain philosophies, flawed or not, or else we'll find ourselves at an insurmountable societal disadvantage...)