Every time they light up those damn signs for messages other than traffic info it slows down traffic and turns marginal drivers dangerous as they try to read it. Do they really think putting buckle up clickit or ticket is going to change the minds of those who don't, or don't drink and drive? as if drunks pay attention. One of my favorites was on my only trip to Utah where every sign I saw stated 'OBEY THE SPEED LAWS', yeah right it was the signs not the many speed cameras that made me comply.
That's the gist of the article. Basically, unless a sign directly relates to ongoing traffic issues in the immediate vicinity - like the "Traffic Congestion Ahead" signs the NJ Turnpike puts up - the marginal increase in danger due to intentionally distracting drivers outweighs the marginal benefit of any long-term potential benefits from such signs.
It should have been obvious - IMHO - that these signs would not be beneficial. I know from sorry personal experience that, in bad conditions, even a moment's worth of distraction can result in an accident. In my case, it happened while I was in college. I was driving back home with my g.f. at the time - driving her car, which her father had just purchased for her - and it was snowing, and beginning to get wet and heavy. I glanced down at the instrument panel to see what my speed was, for just a few seconds, and when I looked back up - a sea of red tail lights and stopped/stopping cars in front of me. The only option was to head for the shoulder; which fortunately was open but which, unfortunately, was a soft dirt should that dipped down into a gully that had shrubs at the bottom. We avoided a rear-end collision, but at the cost of shredding the left-hand side of the car.
Somehow, when we got to her house, her father didn't chew me several new ones.
