2 ms·

"while being so absurdly well-organized." I note a z in organized ... I do get where you are coming from: My mum used to joke about a fictional sign that said

"while being so absurdly well-organized." I note a z in organized ... I do get where you are coming from: My mum used to joke about a fictional sign that said "Please do not throw stones at this sign". Some of our signage is absolutely laughable. We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. Across the entirety of the UK, our road signage is pretty rock solid. There may be a few degenerate cases but all sharp corners have chevron warning signs and they do save lives.

JadeNB 2y ago
> We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. I'm not sure it's as absurd as it sounds. Do you look at the signage you pass every day? I suspect I don't. When they put in a new stop sign near where I live (in the US), things were less safe for a long time because people consistently drove through it without slowing. Since this was not a consistent problem with any other stop sign nearby, I believe it was not willful disobedience but people so used to there being no stop sign there that they literally didn't see it. (Even with literal neon pennants on it, people kept driving through it anyway, but you'd at least sometimes see people skid to a stop partway through the intersection, presumably as their brains caught up. And eventually it penetrated locals' consciousnesses, and now they stop.)
- gerdesj 2y ago
  Fair point. "Do you look at the signage you pass every day?" - I do and so does my sodding car and it still annoys me when it gets the speed limits wrong! I accept I'm not everyone and noting and warning about change is a good idea. We do have a lot of signs and I'm pretty sure I've seen signs warning about upcoming signage (not really 8) I'm happy to report that I've driven in several US states (mostly FL, including around and in Miami and Orlando) and found it pretty straight forward. "Right on red" is pure genius and "four way pass in turn" is not, especially when multiple lanes are involved!
genewitch 2y ago
I'm fairly certain I can find a sign that says, not verbatim, "no shooting at signs" riddled with bullet holes. There was one near the experimental USDA forest, but I bet I could crowd source another one. Most signs do not have bullet holes in them. Like, 98/100 signs are holes-frei
- rconti 2y ago
  Well it's certainly true that "no shooting" signs typically have bullet holes in them.
zimpenfish 2y ago
> non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway Not entirely accurate? Non-locals may visit the area often enough that they're familiar with the area but will not necessarily be familiar with local changes. (eg parents visiting from another part of the country every few months)
MisterTea 2y ago
> We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already ... Not really. New changes like adding stop signs or converting a one way stop to all way must be conveyed to locals who's muscle memory will send them sailing through. Happened to me recently, city added an all way stop to a 4-way free for all intersection and converted two intersections from one way to all way stop. I sailed right through the new all way stop the first day - no cop but I caught it as I went through. Missed the big yellow NEW STOP AHEAD too. Almost ran it again the next few times. Now at least 6 moths later I still see that sign and have to think "oh yeah, thats there."
t0mas88 2y ago
> I note a z in organized ... I think high school English in my country is officially British English, but practically we all learn from reading American media.

JadeNB 2y ago

> We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already and non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway, so why bother. I'm not sure it's as absurd as it sounds. Do you look at the signage you pass every day? I suspect I don't. When they put in a new stop sign near where I live (in the US), things were less safe for a long time because people consistently drove through it without slowing. Since this was not a consistent problem with any other stop sign nearby, I believe it was not willful disobedience but people so used to there being no stop sign there that they literally didn't see it. (Even with literal neon pennants on it, people kept driving through it anyway, but you'd at least sometimes see people skid to a stop partway through the intersection, presumably as their brains caught up. And eventually it penetrated locals' consciousnesses, and now they stop.)

gerdesj 2y ago
Fair point. "Do you look at the signage you pass every day?" - I do and so does my sodding car and it still annoys me when it gets the speed limits wrong! I accept I'm not everyone and noting and warning about change is a good idea. We do have a lot of signs and I'm pretty sure I've seen signs warning about upcoming signage (not really 8) I'm happy to report that I've driven in several US states (mostly FL, including around and in Miami and Orlando) and found it pretty straight forward. "Right on red" is pure genius and "four way pass in turn" is not, especially when multiple lanes are involved!

genewitch 2y ago

I'm fairly certain I can find a sign that says, not verbatim, "no shooting at signs" riddled with bullet holes. There was one near the experimental USDA forest, but I bet I could crowd source another one. Most signs do not have bullet holes in them. Like, 98/100 signs are holes-frei

rconti 2y ago
Well it's certainly true that "no shooting" signs typically have bullet holes in them.

zimpenfish 2y ago

> non locals are encountering it for the first time anyway Not entirely accurate? Non-locals may visit the area often enough that they're familiar with the area but will not necessarily be familiar with local changes. (eg parents visiting from another part of the country every few months)

MisterTea 2y ago

> We do have road signs that proclaim: "New signage" or "New road system" etc. The locals know what has changed already ... Not really. New changes like adding stop signs or converting a one way stop to all way must be conveyed to locals who's muscle memory will send them sailing through. Happened to me recently, city added an all way stop to a 4-way free for all intersection and converted two intersections from one way to all way stop. I sailed right through the new all way stop the first day - no cop but I caught it as I went through. Missed the big yellow NEW STOP AHEAD too. Almost ran it again the next few times. Now at least 6 moths later I still see that sign and have to think "oh yeah, thats there."

t0mas88 2y ago

> I note a z in organized ... I think high school English in my country is officially British English, but practically we all learn from reading American media.