Well, that just ruins our highway fun. You know them. You love them. Anytime you see them you try to take a picture (safely from the passenger seat of course.) But now, those funny and quirky highway signs here in Massachusetts (and the rest of the country for that matter) are about to become a thing of the past. The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has given states two years to implement all the changes outlined in its new 1,100-page manual released last month. This means any electronic signs that are meant to be funny or reference anything pop culture related will be banned starting in 2026 because they can be distracting or drivers could possibly misunderstand them.
The specific rules says all highway signs should be “simple, direct, brief, legible and clear” and should only be in place to warn drivers of crashes ahead, weather alerts and other delays. As you can expect, not everyone is happy about the change. According to Arizona state Rep. David Cook, “Why are you trying to have the federal government come in and tell us what we can do in our own state? Prime example that the federal government is not focusing on what they need to be.”
This got us thinking. There have been some hilarious highway signs here in Massachusetts over the past couple of years. Some of our favorites of course, “Use Yah Blinkah!” We have gone back and found some of our favorites. Of course, if we miss any, or if you have pictures of some of your favorites, let us know.
"When you feel the need to speed, don't!"
Melissa took the picture of this sign last year. This was posted during the release of Top Gun: Maverick. It of course used the reference from the movie “I feel the need. The need for speed!”
Funny electronic sign in Massachusetts during the Top Gun Maverick era
