Everyone's a comedian these days. Even the Missouri Department of Transportation is trying to tickle our funny bone.
Instead of the typical (but boring) signs to alert drivers to road closures, work zones, wrecks, etc., the department is stepping up its game with signs that are both funny and informative.
Among the recent ones, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story: "Did you run out of blinker fluid?," "Eyes on the road: Head out of apps," and "Camp in the Ozarks not in the left lane."
And while there might be a few drivers who will ask their mechanic to top off their imaginary blinker fluid, most drivers, we suspect, will get the humor and the message. (With this message, it's a reminder to use your turn signal - your "blinkers" - when changing lanes or turning.)
Two MoDOT traffic engineers and two communications specialists brainstorm new messages for the roughly 250 digital message boards across the state, the Post-Dispatch reported. (Fill in your own punchline about how many MoDOT workers it takes to word a traffic sign.)
The Associated Press reported that a spike in traffic fatalities in 2014 prompted department leaders to reevaluate the boards.
Linda Wilson-Horn, a MoDOT communications director who helps write the messages for the signs each month, said that, with more than 90 percent of wrecks being caused by human error, the goal was to create attention-grabbers.
The messages are sometimes seasonal, like "Buckle Up. Drive safe. Love Mom," for Mother's Day.
Or they comment on pop culture. When the newest Star Wars movie premiered, signs co-opted Darth Vader's line: "I find your lack of seat belt disturbing."
Other states are following the lead of Missouri, Iowa and Massachusetts in creating the signs.
Think it would be easy to be both witty and informative? Try doing it under a character limit that makes 140-character Tweets look like a "War & Peace"-sized tome. You've got three lines, up to 14 characters each, to get your message across.
If you still think you've got what it takes, MoDOT wants to see your submissions. If you're as good as you think you are, you might see your handiwork on roads throughout Missouri.
Traffic fatalities in Missouri continue to rise. And, while we hope the time MoDOT employees spend on the program is very limited, we do commend the agency for thinking outside the box.
We believe the program has the potential to put a smile on drivers' faces and - at the same time - remind them to follow safe driving practices.