# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/61 "2004-09-01T23:50:11Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Anyways… apparently it’s also called “jake braking” which is a way diesel semi trucks use to slow down (esp. on hills) and this saves on brake life. The downside of this is a really loud noise coming from the braking. The misspelling is used in order to get around Jacobs’ lawyers.[What are “jake brakes” and why are they prohibited in some locations?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mjake.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/62 "2004-09-03T16:59:02Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > 10,000 angry vacuum cleaners Now I know what to name my Alterna-rock band 🙂 . > [@romansperson](#): > > Runaway Truck Ramp > 500 yards > > :eek::eek: Having ridden and driven through mountains, I can tell you that these signs are incredibly useful. I certainly don’t want to be run down by a semi carrying 20 tons of stuff while it is hurtling down the mountain at 110 MPH, which they will do even if they do have brakes. [sub]I’m kidding about the band. I don’t have one, yet.[/sub] ---
**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 3, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/63 "2004-09-03T17:35:04Z")
> [@Agonist](#): > > And “Coyote” is what they call professional immigrant smugglers in Mexico. Should have made that clear to start with. Thanks. In Canada they tend to call them Snakeheads after the Chinese term, because of all the rustbuckets full of Chinese illegal immigrants that were washing up on the west coast for a while. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/64 "2004-09-03T19:07:07Z")
I hate the ones that say “Massachusetts State Police seek aggressive drivers.” I want to apply, but they don’t list a phone number. There’s a billboard on I-70 near Pittsburgh that says “Beer: Gateway to Alcoholism”. My favorite road sign is (was?) on I-295 outside Jacksonville: “Caution: Road Wet When Rain”. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/65 "2004-09-03T22:27:55Z")
> [@gfloyd](#): > > Scariest sign I ever saw was the “Curves ahead” sign, with the ominous statement “Next 81 miles” underneath it. That was on one, south of Carmel in Cali. They meant it, too. By the end, I wanted dramamine. [hijack] **gfloyd** , are you the one who started a thread a few months back, looking for cool things to do in Calif while you were looking at colleges? If so – how’dit go? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/66 "2004-09-03T22:34:24Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > I am with **dwc1970** what are you supoosed to do with “Watch for Falling Rock”? take it literally? Just worry? You’re supposed to stick your head out the window and peer nervously up at the cliff tops while driving with one hand. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/67 "2004-09-04T07:10:54Z")
> [@Agonist](#): > > 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_. > > As far as I know, this is the only border checkpoint in California that’s not at the border. There’s one on I-15 near Temecula (as **cher3** said) but I don’t think it has the cute sign. There’s also 2 on the roads alongside the Salton Sea, between Palm Springs and Brawley. SR78, way out in the desert, may also have one. That covers ALL the roads connecting San Diego with the rest of the state. ---
**Author:** ![Ronnie\_James\_Dio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Ronnie\_James\_Dio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronnie_James_Dio)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/68 "2004-09-04T20:21:15Z")
What are the “Bridge freezes before road surface” for? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/69 "2004-09-04T22:06:58Z")
To remind you that you may be about to lose some traction, if the temperature is at or a little below freezing and there’s been some recent precipitation. It’s a good idea to back off the gas and put both hands on the wheel when reaching a bridge in those conditions. “Watch for Falling Rock” has some joke connected to it about looking for the missing Indian brave. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/70 "2004-09-05T18:27:06Z")
> [@Ronnie James Dio](#): > > What are the “Bridge freezes before road surface” for? IANA Meteoroligist, but I believe it is because the bridge or overpass is in the air, while the rest of the road surface is on the ground. The ground loses heat slower than the air and will resist freezing longer than the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/71 "2004-09-05T18:36:09Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > put both hands on the wheel Tut tut. Surely you mean _keep_ both hands on the wheel? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/72 "2004-09-05T18:39:42Z")
> [@jimmmy](#): > > I am with **dwc1970** what are you supoosed to do with “Watch for Falling Rock”? take it literally? Just worry? I guess what they _mean_ is watch for _fallen_ rock. In other words, don’t complain nobody warned you if you go round the next bend too fast to avoid a boulder that’s in the middle of the road. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/73 "2004-09-05T19:25:15Z")
Deer Crossing signs on the Interstate. I can just imagine a deer crossing the Interstate and cars start slamming on their breaks while other cars slam into them. There’s a huge smouldering mess with dead people everywhere. All the while, the deer has bounded across the stretch of road safely. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/74 "2004-09-06T03:34:30Z")
Some distance from where I live, at a very small rural airport, there is a two-part sign. The top half has “WATCH FOR LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT” The bottom half has the standard runway marking for a “Runway 18” on it. The small building housing the office of this little airport has numerous pictures of airplane vs. pickup truck pictures dating from the 1930’s to the present hung on the walls. The only thing I hate worse than seeing that sign is either driving or flying by it. You’d think that after 70 years they’d maybe move either the road or the runway, but noooooooo… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/75 "2004-09-06T15:06:09Z")
> [@Rabid Child](#): > > Deer Crossing signs on the Interstate. I can just imagine a deer crossing the Interstate and cars start slamming on their breaks while other cars slam into them. There’s a huge smouldering mess with dead people everywhere. All the while, the deer has bounded across the stretch of road safely. Thus is the scene in many cartoons, sketch comedies, and outdoor comedy movies throughout the years. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/76 "2004-09-06T18:46:51Z")
I don’t know about worst signs, but my favorite sign for a long time was on I-5 South in San Diego. “Cruise Ships Use Airport Exit”. I loved it. I always visualized the Love Boat having to put on a blinker and merge towards the exit for the San Diego airport. Unfortunately, just before I left California, someone fixed the sign so it read “For Cruise Ships, Use Airport Exit”. Poop. They take all my fun away. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398/77 "2004-09-07T00:41:22Z")
Jackie Robinson Highway, Brooklyn-Queens very curvy road. how curvy? Try six consecutive curve signs, one after another. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/road-signs-you-hate-to-see/262398.md?page=3)