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[Pink Jazz]

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]

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]

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

[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%...

[MCRoads]

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.

[empirestate]

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]

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]

Up from when, though?

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

But nobody was around to give me the answer.

[wanderer2575]

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]

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]

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.

[kalvado]

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]

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 

[JoePCool14]

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.

[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.