Snarky Road Safety Signs Speak NJ Drivers' Language, Booker Tells Feds

NEW JERSEY — Sen. Cory Booker is demanding answers from federal highway officials over their insistence that New Jersey drop its humorous road safety messages.

The messages started appearing on New Jersey's variable message boards over roads around the state in early October, part of an effort to get drivers to drive more safely.

And in a state whose residents are fluent in sarcasm (the state's Twitter account went viral for its snarky tweets), the messages — from "Get your head out of your apps" to "Slow Down. This ain't Thunder Road" — were well-received by the majority of drivers.

When the Federal Highway Administration told the New Jersey Department of Transportation to drop the humor because they "diminish respect", the response was an outpouring of appreciation for them and of annoyance at federal authorities.

"I love these signs! And I actually catch myself looking for them and reading to see if they’ve come up with a new one … which means I read the sign which is more than I did before," April Vigil wrote on the Patch Facebook page, one of more than 1,300 comments posted in response.

"That’s too bad, they were very us - funny with just a touch of aggression," Ann Geiger wrote. "The Jersey way 😂," Marina Scarth said in reply to Geiger's comment.

A number of commenters said federal authorities needed to lighten up ... sometimes in colorful ways.

Messages from a Patch reporter seeking comment from the Federal Highway Administration have not been answered.

Booker, in a letter to Stephanie Pollack, acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, highlighted the positive responses the signs have received from New Jersey motorists and demanded to know why the agency told the state to stop "without providing NJDOT with a comprehensive, data-driven justification for the decision."

"While we truly appreciate the expertise and oversight of FHWA in helping keep our highways safe, we think it is important to keep in mind that New Jersey-specific approaches to communicating to drivers in our state can be the best way to make a positive impact," Booker wrote.

Booker requested the analysis the agency used to decide to block the humorous messages and the data to support the decision, and suggested Congress may need to take action to "facilitate the modernization of roadway safety communication."

The federal agency's decision to tell New Jersey to stop using the messages appears to be a result of a 2021 interpretation of federal regulations for variable message signs that said "the use of witticisms, colloquialisms, and popular culture references that target or are comprehended only by a limited segment of the population," violating a federal regulation that requires "clear and simple" messages.

Messages that "rely on hidden meanings or targeted cultural knowledge to understand the message ... (or) do not use conventional syntax do not convey a clear, simple meaning to many road users," the interpretation reads.

Other states, including Pennsylvania and Delaware, use humorous road safety messages, Booker noted, and asked why only New Jersey has been told to stop using them.

Jennifer Kuntch, deputy communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, confirmed the state started using humorous messages this year.

"PennDOT started this year using non-traditional, creative messages on changeable message signs as part of our scheduled safety messages throughout the year in addition to more traditional messages," she said."PennDOT has not been told by the FHWA to stop using non-traditional messages on our CMS."

Readers said Delaware has posted signs such as "Camp in a State Park, not the left lane!" and "Come on Eileen, your speed is obscene." Delaware authorities have not responded to a request for comment.

New Jersey has been faced with a sharp rise in traffic crashes and fatalities in the last two years. Through Nov. 22, there have been 584 fatal crashes with 623 deaths in 2022; in 2020, through Nov. 22, there were 496 fatal crashes with 528 people killed, according to New Jersey State Police data.

Those numbers are a significant jump from 2019, where there were 524 crashes and 558 deaths for the entire year, according to the state police.

"Unconventional and creative methods for solving our common problems is a core part of what makes New Jersey an exceptional place to call home," Booker wrote. "We appreciate any information you can provide over the coming days and hope you will work with NJDOT to ensure that the most effective approaches to promoting safety in New Jersey are promptly implemented."