SAN DIEGO — Witty messages that range from urging drivers not to litter to not driving under the influence can be seen throughout San Diego freeways.
Caltrans San Diego is getting witty when it comes to warning drivers with messages like: “Don’t trash our road, tarp your load.”
Behind those witty messages is Caltrans San Diego employee, Hayden Manning.
“We have been kind of wanting to push the limit in getting unique messages on signs for a while,” he said.
Manning has been helping Caltrans San Diego craft some of the more creative messages seen along San Diego highways.
“We know you have seen, 'Don’t drink and drive' messages, but during Christmas, we came up with, 'Drinking and driving puts you on the naughty list,' – something unique. I actually got a lot of response on that,” he said.
Experts said after seeing the same messages over and over, drivers tend to ignore posted warnings. When they are a bit catchier messages, Gerard Chadergain, with Caltrans San Diego Traffic Operations, said “it seems like people talk about them more [and] pay attention more.”
Caltrans San Diego said it got the idea from nearby states like Arizona, where the Department of Transportation is known for pushing the limits with its lingo.
“To get the spaces and to get a short message is a little tough,” said Manning.
For example, during the Taylor Swift concert, highway signs read: “Cutoff? Don’t get bad blood. Shake it off.” A play on off the singer’s song titles.
Other messages include: “Single in HOV? Get a real date, not a court date.”
Another message during the Star Wars premier read: “Aggressive driving is a path to the dark side.”
For a U2 concert, highway messages read: “Don’t move in mysterious ways, use your blinker.”
Caltrans San Diego is still a bit more reserved in its messaging compared to other cities, but Chadergain said, nevertheless, drivers should “pay attention, heed the warnings.”
Manning said he is trying to put his spin on highway messages.
“Actually, a lot of them get shot down. I don’t get to say whatever I want,” he said.
Caltrans said if you have any ideas for a good slogan for a sign, reach out to them on social media because they are always open to new ideas.
Caltrans San Diego does get their messages approved at the state level. They are currently working on a project to replace almost all highway signs in the county with new and improved LED ones that will increase visibility.