# Road Signs You Hate To See **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 31, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398 "2004-08-31T11:04:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/41 "2004-09-01T17:30:03Z")
The first of DOZENS of _South Of The Border_ signs on I-95 in the south. Yeesh! …and the ONE I’m glad to see… _Hey Amigo! You just **PASSED** Pedro’s South Of The Border!_ \ ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/42 "2004-09-01T17:42:52Z")
> [@Martiju](#): > > What happened to the end of that sentence - did a deer run off with it?? > > On a similar note, there’s one near me marked ‘low flying owls’…I wonder if that’s there for all the little mice and shrews so they take cover? I’ve seen plenty of “Low Flying Aircraft” signs but no “Low Flying Owls” signs. Now I have the mental picture of an owl the size of a 737 flying overhead. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/43 "2004-09-01T17:47:45Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I’ve seen plenty of “Low Flying Aircraft” signs but no “Low Flying Owls” signs. Now I have the mental picture of an owl the size of a 737 flying overhead. I’ve been ‘swooped’ by an owl while driving - it really is very distracting. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/44 "2004-09-01T18:16:59Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > _North_ of San Diego? > > Is this sign warning pedestrians not to run across the freeway? Or is it a warning to motorists that people may be running across the freeway? Yes, North. It’s near the Camp Pendleton Marine Base. I’m not sure why, other than the fact that the area is large, unpopulated and restricted. There are several inland checkpoints away from the actual border. And the signs are definitely there to warn drivers that people may be running across the road. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/45 "2004-09-01T18:27:14Z")
Interesting. Having never been to Southern California, I’m unfamiliar with the region. Is there a series of checkpoints well north of the border all the way across then? I’ve heard that there is a similar series of Mexican checkpoints well south of the border in Mexico… Is the highway located near the shore? (I’m thinking, similar to the highway between Santa Cruz and Monterey here.) Perhaps it’s common for people to land on the beach and run inland? ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/46 "2004-09-01T18:31:48Z")
How about “Border Closes at 11 PM”? I was on a cross-country trip with my family, and we always have our precise route mapped out before we leave. We were planning on heading from Deer Lodge, Montana to Donalda, Alberta by going north on US 89. And I had no idea that border crossings EVER closed. Some 30 miles before that border, though, we saw the above sign. We decided to forge ahead anyway, stay in a hotel as close as possible to the border, and continue in the morning, possibly missing some stuff. Unfortunately, we were seeing our other least-favorite sign…NO VACANCY. Hotel after hotel (and they were not very close together in that area either) had nothing to offer. Finally, by about 3:30 AM, we had backtracked to a point where we weren’t too far from the I-15. We turned east, took the I-15 North, crossed the border around 6 AM, and didn’t sleep outside he car at all. And we missed two things we had planned to see that day as well. ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/47 "2004-09-01T18:37:58Z")
My favorite is on Loop 360 in Austin - before a long stretch where the road has been carved through a few hilltops: “Watch for Dangerous Wind Currents” Yeah. Just tell me what a wind current looks like, dumbass…and how to tell the dangerous ones from the friendly ones… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/48 "2004-09-01T18:39:28Z")
I’m not too fond of those signs warning you not to pick up any hitch hikers for the next few miles because you’re in the vicinity of a prison. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/49 "2004-09-01T18:55:31Z")
(slightly off topic–this is not so much a “sign I hate to see” as just a"stupid sign that makes you wonder why they put it there") At the entrance to the airport in New York there’s a sign saying “watch for low flying aircraft” So what am I supposed to do–duck? Let’s see…I’m on the ground, and the airplane is not.That’s because it’s flying–get it, flying–that means it’s UP there, over my head. Even if it’s just taking off and is only as high as a 3 or4 story building, it’s still up there over my head–and it ain’t gonna get in my way while I drive by looking for terminal number 3. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/50 "2004-09-01T19:35:18Z")
Well, someone already got my “Watch for Low Flying Aircraft.” The other one I saw on that road trip was “DO NOT PICK UP HITCH HIKERS . . PRISON AREA” And of course there’s the two on [this page](http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,11192666~mode=flat) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/51 "2004-09-01T19:35:41Z")
**chappachula** , I think that sign would be to keep drivers from being startled by the suddenly-appearing low-flying aircraft, and losing control of their cars. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/52 "2004-09-01T20:27:03Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > **chappachula** , I think that sign would be to keep drivers from being startled by the suddenly-appearing low-flying aircraft, and losing control of their cars. Especially when you are on a military base, and the wind is just right that it sends the sound of aircraft engines away from you … and suddenly, right over your head, blocking out the sun, is a gihugeous C-5 transport aircraft. Then the sound, like 10,000 angry vacuum cleaners, hits you. :eek: That said, my personal least-favorite road sign? Runaway Truck Ramp 500 yards :eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/53 "2004-09-01T21:15:01Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Interesting. Having never been to Southern California, I’m unfamiliar with the region. Is there a series of checkpoints well north of the border all the way across then? I’ve heard that there is a similar series of Mexican checkpoints well south of the border in Mexico… > > Is the highway located near the shore? (I’m thinking, similar to the highway between Santa Cruz and Monterey here.) Perhaps it’s common for people to land on the beach and run inland? This particular one is close to the shore, so that may be a possibility, although why it would be more attractive to go ashore at a Marine Base than elsewhere, I can’t see. Pendleton is a training camp, so they are always messing about in tanks and such. There are other internal checkpoints, permanent and otherwise, but I couldn’t find out exactly where. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/54 "2004-09-01T21:15:52Z")
On the “Road to Hana”, an extremely curvy road on Maui island, there are a number of signs that read, “One Lane Bridge Ahead”. Only one car can pass at a time. If two cars try to start across from either end, well let’s just say it’s not fun trying to back around the side of a volcano. Another favorite is the orange CalTrans signs declaring “X lanes closed ahead”, because more often than not it’s during rush hour, and they’re not doing any real work, just sweeping the dirt off the freeway or changing a lightbulb or some crap. ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/55 "2004-09-01T22:00:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Perhaps it’s common for people to land on the beach and run inland? I’ve lived in San Diego for 15 years or so, and have seen that sign several times. Actually, there are two: just before the Checkpoint it shows the family running _left_ , toward the ocean, and just after the Checkpoint is shows the same group running _right_. The impression I got was that the Coyote would stop the van and let the immigrants out, then the immigrants would run across the freeway to the beach (where presumably security is less tight than on the Marine base), sneak past the checkpoint, then run across the freeway again to meet up with the Coyote once more. As far as I know, this is the only border checkpoint in California that’s not at the border. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/56 "2004-09-01T22:06:43Z")
I believe there is one near Temecula, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/57 "2004-09-01T22:09:30Z")
**Agonist** , you’re heading north in your description, right? Coyote = smuggler of illegal immigrants? Which would make the immigrants themselves… Roadrunners? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/58 "2004-09-01T22:18:53Z")
Seen in Seattle: **ILLEGAL ACTIVITY PROHIBITED IN THIS AREA** You know _that_ ain’t good. ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/59 "2004-09-01T22:36:49Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > “Welcome to Wales” always gets me down. > > I kid Damn… I was going to use “Welcome to Detroit”. and FWIW I liked Wales a lot more than Reading, but liked Reading a lot more than I thought I would… ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/60 "2004-09-01T22:45:23Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > **Agonist** , you’re heading north in your description, right? > > Coyote = smuggler of illegal immigrants? Which would make the immigrants themselves… Roadrunners? Hehheh. Yes, that’s a northbound scenario. And “Coyote” is what they call professional immigrant smugglers in Mexico. Should have made that clear to start with. Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398.md?page=4)