Walk, drive or bike down the street of any major city and you will see road signs and traffic signs posted everywhere. From the hard to miss red stop signs to the yellow pedestrian crossing signs, it seems like everywhere you look there is a sign telling you not to do this or not to do that. Unfortunately, in some situations, such familiarity can breed complacence. That is, such road safety signs become so much a part of the urban tapestry that drivers and cyclists stop noticing and heeding them. Getting the attention of drivers and then getting them to slow down and look for cyclists, children at play, pedestrians and more poses its own set of problems.

Standard Road Traffic Signs May Blend in Too Much

With a little creativity and resourcefulness, some community members and businesses have tried their own hand at creating custom traffic signs and road safety signs. Rather than the familiar red and diamond-shaped yellow signs most of us are familiar with, these folks have taken it upon themselves to create marker-board road safety signs in the hopes that the off-beat nature of such signs will capture the ever-elusive attention of busy drivers.

Custom Signage Can Use Humor to Raise Alertness

In addition to such hand-written signs, businesses and organizations can customize their own signs to add a little humor to traditional no parking signs or slow down signs. Drivers may be more inclined to obey a sign that makes them laugh a little. At the very least, they may be more likely to take notice of the sign because it stands out and differentiates itself from the multitude of road traffic signs and no parking signs a driver sees in a day. Some examples might include:

• Slow Down: Our Children Depend On It
• No Parking on Sidewalk
• Park Between White Lines Only
• Drive Like Your Kids Live Here
• Drive Slow to See Our Village, Drive Fast to See Our Judge

By adding some humor or lightness to standard-message “No Parking” or “Slow Down” signs, motorists may be both more likely to notice and heed them.