By design, traffic signs are meant to be highly visible and easy to understand. We can’t imagine someone not getting the gist of “SPEED LIMIT 25 MPH.” Yet, despite that a mystery person or persons in a Denver neighborhood apparently don’t believe their local signs are convincing enough. Considering some of the buffoonery we’ve seen, we can’t blame them.
To really drive the message home to drivers speeding through their town, someone or possibly a group of people attached profane additions to speed limit signs. One reading “Don’t Kill Any Kids Today.” Another reads “Get Off Your Damn Phone.” It only gets spicier from there. Other signs read “Slow The **** Down,” and “Put Down The Phone ***hole.”
It’s certainly one way to get the point across, and the local police can sympathize, but they aren’t okay with it. “I’m guessing that it’s a concerned citizen that is kind of fed up with the behavior they’re seeing in their neighborhoods or other neighborhoods,” said Boulder police commander Darren Fladung told 9News. “So, I definitely appreciate the gesture behind what they’re intending to do, but again, like I said, it is a crime and there’s other means people can take to try and let us know of these behaviors.”
We can also appreciate the gesture. While most drivers tend to speed a little over the limits, there are some folks who drive like complete assclowns and should be called out. By the way, our legal department is politely reminding us, we don’t condone illegal activity of any kind here at MotorTrend. We should point out, as well, that the creators of the sign may not have completely thought their eye-catching protest through. It could be argued that the altered signs are just as distracting as looking at a phone, especially considering that some drivers will stop just to photograph the signs.
Five signs have been seen and reported so far and local authorities have already taken some down, though in some cases it required “special tools” to do so. Fladung suspects that since attaching the signs is an involved task, someone will eventually see the perpetrators doing it and report the sighting. “There’s always potential someone in the community may have seen them as they were placing these signs throughout the different neighborhoods,” said Fladung.
Boulder Police department says it considers the signs “criminal tampering” and wants anyone with information about the signs to contact the department at 303-441-3333 and reference case 24-12182.
Images by 9News and City of Boulder.
