“Use Yah Blinkah.” “Don’t drive star-spangled hammered.” “Hocus pocus, drive with focus.”
Thanks to federal regulators, these slogans will no longer appear on highway signs across the United States as of 2026.
The US Federal Highway Administration is cracking down on the use of jokes and pop-culture references in overhead electronic signs, arguing that the messages can distract drivers.
Under the new guidelines, which were laid out in a new 1,100-page manual on America’s signs and other traffic-control devices, signs cannot display messages intended to be humorous or with pop culture references, or anything that could “diminish respect for the sign”.
The regulatory agency says that such messages can be misunderstood or distracting to drivers and that signs should be “simple, direct, brief, legible and clear”. The signs should be used only for important information such as warning drivers of crashes, weather conditions and traffic delays. Seatbelt reminders and warnings about the dangers of speeding or driving impaired are also allowed.
States across the country have embraced humorous signs in order to get more drivers to pay attention to safety messages. Illinois debuted a series related to marijuana after the state legalized the drug in 2020 (One sign read “Got The Munchies? Get Food Delivered. Don’t Drive High!”).
“We have nearly 1,000 fatalities on Illinois roadways a year, and we’re just looking for any way to get that number down to zero. That is the ultimate goal,” an Illinois state transportation official told NPR in 2020.
Mississippi launched their first sign in 2018. “Cousin Eddie says Twitter’s full. Put down the phone,” appeared on the state’s 72 electronic signs that year, a reference to the film Christmas Vacation. The state has also used references to the Star Wars show The Mandalorian (“Baby Yoda uses the Force but still needs a car seat”).
Holiday cheer has landed on our overhead signs reminding travelers to drive safely (and end up on Santa’s “nice” list) in the days leading up to Christmas.
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 24, 2023
MORE: https://t.co/0TOPoJFaNI pic.twitter.com/lFeGDb9h38
In Arizona, which has more than 300 electronic signs above its highways, the state transportation department has held a contest to find the funniest and most creative messages for the last seven years.
Last year’s contest drew more than 3,700 entries. The winners were “Seatbelts always pass a vibe check” and “I’m just a sign asking drivers to use turn signals”.
“The humor part of it, we kind of like,” state congressman David Cook, a Republican from Globe, told Phoenix TV station CBS 5.
Cook was critical of regulators’ efforts to crack down on the messages.
“Why are you trying to have the federal government come in and tell us what we can do in our own state? Prime example that the federal government is not focusing on what they need to be.”
