A Mississippi roadside safety sign with a reference to Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” hit song. The Mississippi Department of Transportation has been using funny roadside safety signs since 2018.
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Transportation
Some researchers say the jokes grab drivers' attention, but regulators say they're distracting.
Here are some of the funniest and cleverest highway messages you won't see after January 2026.
You know that funny, witty sign that sometimes blinks above the highway, promoting safety? It certainly caught your eye. But did it distract you from driving?
A Mississippi roadside safety sign: "Four I's in Mississippi, two eyes on the road."
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
US states have been using quirky roadside signs to remind drivers to slow down, use turn signals, and buckle up.
The Ohio Department of Transportation started using the signs in 2015. Messages have included “Don't Drive Sauced, Leave It To The Cranberries," and “Santa sees you when you’re speeding!"
Courtesy of the Ohio Department of Transportation
These 'changeable message signs' are meant to display safety messages, transportation-related notices, and emergency alerts.
The Iowa Department of Transportation launched its own roadside safety signs program in 2013 as "Message Mondays" and it renamed it in 2021 as "Roadside Chat."
Courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation
But states like Iowa, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Nevada have been putting their own twist on them for years to grab drivers' attention.
A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation roadside safety sign during Independence Day, urging drivers to drive sober.
Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The tradition is so popular that some states, like Nevada, hold contests and encourage drivers to submit entries for the messages.
Nevada has held contests for popular roadside safety messages. "With over 90% of U.S. crashes caused in part by driver behavior, the message boards are an important driving safety reminder," the Nevada Department of Transportation's website says.
Courtesy of the Nevada Department of Transportation
States even like to time their roadside safety messages with holidays.
A Valentine's Day safety message in Nevada.
Courtesy of the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Federal officials are not sure the practice is safe. They worry that 'unconventional' wording or syntax could be more distracting than anything else.
A sign in Missouri makes creative use of formatting to encourage drivers to use the left lane for passing other cars.
Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Transportation
Now the US Federal Highway Administration is banning jokes and pop-culture references on highway signs.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation posted the message "Changing Lanes? Use Yah Blinkah" on highway signs in Boston.
Michael Dwyer/AP Photo
Messages about safety should be "simple, direct, brief, legible, and clear," the agency said in its new guidelines.
This quote comes from the 1989 film Field of Dreams, in which actor Ray Liotta asks Kevin Coster, "Is this heaven?" Coster smiles and replies, "No. It's Iowa."
Courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation
Debates over highway messaging came to a head in late 2022, when the New Jersey Department of Transportation unveiled new humorous signs.
A New Jersey Department of Transportation roadside safety sign with a reference to cannabis. New Jersey legalized the use of recreational cannabis in 2020.
Courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Transportation
A few weeks later, the Federal Highway Administration told New Jersey to 'cease and desist,' as reported by the Washington Post, saying this use of highway signs 'is inconsistent with both law and regulations.'
A message in Mississippi says that "Baby Yoda uses the Force but still needs a carseat."
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Transportation
New Jersey complied, with some grumbles. Senator Cory Booker wrote to the agency asking why just New Jersey got rebuked, when a lot of states use such signs.
"Nice car," said a New Jersey safety sign. "Does it come with a turn signal?" Other popular messages included "Slow down, this ain't Thunder road," and "Hold onto your butts — help prevent forest fires."
Courtesy of the New Jersey Department of Transportation
Some researchers, like Tripp Shealy at Virginia Tech, claim that non-traditional safety messages are highly effective, because they force drivers to engage their brains more.
A Utah Department of Transportation roadside safety message saying: "Turn signals, the original instant message."
On the other hand, research by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's Transportation Research Board recommended that 'agencies do not attempt to incorporate humor or pop culture references' into the messages.
A Mississippi Department of Transportation roadside safety sign saying: "100 is the temperature, not the speed limit."
Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Transportation
According to the Washington Post, some states like Virginia and Pennsylvania tried to find a compromise by having a committee vet the messages using federal guidelines.
The Ozarks are a hilly, touristic region in Missouri.
Courtesy of the Missouri Department of Transportation
The new ban on signs with jokes and pop culture references goes into effect on Thursday, January 18, but the federal agency is giving states two years to comply. By January 2026, there should be no more funny signs on the highway.
