Signs of the times
04/07/13 04:39
Driving downtown yesterday, I noticed that our city has put up one of those temporary letterboards that are often used in construction zones right at the west end of Hailey Park, which divides the traffic into one-way travel for the downtown grid. The sign is set up to be read from the eastbound lanes – the ones going into downtown Rapid City. I am sure that it is part of the preparations for the city’s 4th of July celebrations. It says:
U Booze
U Cruise
U Lose
Don’t
Drink
& Drive
I was immediately struck by the genius of this approach. Why hadn’t someone thought of this before? All you have to do to address a major social problem is put up a sign! Drinking and driving is a major problem all across this country. While there have been some decreases in recent years, nearly 10,000 people die in accidents involving drunk drivers each year in the United States. In 2011, 32 people died in South Dakota because of drunk drivers. Eight of those fatalities involved a drunk driver who was underage. Catching drunk drivers is serious business and preventing alcohol;-related accidents is rightly a high priority for law enforcement agencies. So I don’t mean to make a joke of this very serious problem.
But does anyone seriously think that putting up a sign is the way to stop people from drinking and driving? I’m trying to imagine the scenario.
A car full of people leaves a party driven by someone who has had a few too many. As the car weaves towards downtown the driver sees the sign. Immediately he pulls over parks the car and announces, “Everybody walks from here. I just forgot that you aren’t supposed to drink and drive. It is a good thing they put that sign up there to remind me.”
Or perhaps this is the way it will work out. A group of people are heading downtown to have a few drinks at a local bar. The driver sees the sign and it makes him think, “Oh, it’s a good thing they put that sign up to remind me. Now I will give my keys to the bartender before I start drinking and call a cab when it is time to go home.”
You get the picture.
I’ve heard a lot of stories about officers who have tried to peacefully apprehend drinking drivers. They have been subjected to attempts to get them involved in highway chases. They have seen inebriated drivers try to run for it. They have heard stories about how the person isn’t really drunk. “I have diabetes!” They have been spat at, swung at, and had to wrestle suspects to the ground. They have been cursed at, chewed out, and heard more excuses than you might imagine. I’ve never heard of an officer who, when arresting a drunk driver, has heard, “Gee, officer, I forgot that I’m not supposed to drink and drive. If only they had put up a sign, then I would have known.”
As far as I know that same excuse has never been used as a defense in court, either.
But now we don’t have to worry because we’ve got our sign.
If they really want to stop drunk drivers, a real police car with a real officer in the same location would be more effective.
Seeing the sign made me think of a couple of other signs that are up around our town. On Jackson Boulevard, the scene of a lot of construction, they’ve put up one of those temporary speed limit signs that has a radar device that will display the speed of your vehicle. I’ve often wondered if people are so unaware of their driving that they don’t know what speed they are going. I have a speedometer and a GPS device in my car. Both give me constant feedback on my speed. I don’t really need a sign in order to know how fast I am going. This particular sign has another problem. It is focused down the road a ways. In heavy traffic, which is most of the time these days, it may be displaying your speed or the speed of a car that is ahead of or behind you. I’m trying to figure out exactly where it reads the speed of the car. This is important information. Because I haven’t been speeding. I’ve been following the speed limit. So, when I look up and the sign is displaying a speed that is faster than I’m going, it makes a BIG difference to me whether that speeding vehicle is the one ahead of me or the one behind me. You know what I mean. So far, no one has run into me, but there have been a few squealing tires on pavement when the brakes were applied suddenly. It makes me think that I’m the only one who notices the sign. If the speeders aren’t noticing it, we’re all in trouble.
I feel the same way about the “U Booze, U Cruise, U Lose” sign. I noticed it. Heck I even took pictures of it. But I don’t drink to excess. I still have two cans of beer left from the six-pack I bought last summer to use to grill beer can chicken. I drink a glass of wine from time to time, but never several. And I have an absolute rule about drinking and driving. I simply don’t do it. But I do notice the signs.
Driving around town, however, it seems that there are a lot of drivers who don’t notice the signs. For example, the speed limit sings are clearly posted all around town. I know exactly where the speed limit changes from 35 to 40 and from 40 to 45 and from 45 to 50 and back to 45 on my drive out Sheridan Lake Road. Some days, however, it seems like I’m the only one who notices such things. Nearly every day I get behind someone who drives 45 in the 50 mph zone, but who also drives 45 in the 40 mph and the 35 mph zones.
So, if offenders don’t read the signs, what are the chances that they will have their lives changed by the temporary signs that the highway department has put up for a holiday weekend? Hmm. . . it is a good thing that the city purchased those signs for other purposes. It would be a shame if they spent all that money to purchase signs that people simply won’t read.
But then, again, I don’t think like the people who decide where to put the signs and what they should say.
So drive carefully out there. It is a holiday. There might be some drivers who aren’t as careful as you. Better yet, stay home to celebrate the 4th. If enough of us did that, the stores would stop thinking that they have to be open on the holiday.
U Booze
U Cruise
U Lose
Don’t
Drink
& Drive
But does anyone seriously think that putting up a sign is the way to stop people from drinking and driving? I’m trying to imagine the scenario.
A car full of people leaves a party driven by someone who has had a few too many. As the car weaves towards downtown the driver sees the sign. Immediately he pulls over parks the car and announces, “Everybody walks from here. I just forgot that you aren’t supposed to drink and drive. It is a good thing they put that sign up there to remind me.”
Or perhaps this is the way it will work out. A group of people are heading downtown to have a few drinks at a local bar. The driver sees the sign and it makes him think, “Oh, it’s a good thing they put that sign up to remind me. Now I will give my keys to the bartender before I start drinking and call a cab when it is time to go home.”
You get the picture.
As far as I know that same excuse has never been used as a defense in court, either.
But now we don’t have to worry because we’ve got our sign.
If they really want to stop drunk drivers, a real police car with a real officer in the same location would be more effective.
Seeing the sign made me think of a couple of other signs that are up around our town. On Jackson Boulevard, the scene of a lot of construction, they’ve put up one of those temporary speed limit signs that has a radar device that will display the speed of your vehicle. I’ve often wondered if people are so unaware of their driving that they don’t know what speed they are going. I have a speedometer and a GPS device in my car. Both give me constant feedback on my speed. I don’t really need a sign in order to know how fast I am going. This particular sign has another problem. It is focused down the road a ways. In heavy traffic, which is most of the time these days, it may be displaying your speed or the speed of a car that is ahead of or behind you. I’m trying to figure out exactly where it reads the speed of the car. This is important information. Because I haven’t been speeding. I’ve been following the speed limit. So, when I look up and the sign is displaying a speed that is faster than I’m going, it makes a BIG difference to me whether that speeding vehicle is the one ahead of me or the one behind me. You know what I mean. So far, no one has run into me, but there have been a few squealing tires on pavement when the brakes were applied suddenly. It makes me think that I’m the only one who notices the sign. If the speeders aren’t noticing it, we’re all in trouble.
I feel the same way about the “U Booze, U Cruise, U Lose” sign. I noticed it. Heck I even took pictures of it. But I don’t drink to excess. I still have two cans of beer left from the six-pack I bought last summer to use to grill beer can chicken. I drink a glass of wine from time to time, but never several. And I have an absolute rule about drinking and driving. I simply don’t do it. But I do notice the signs.
Driving around town, however, it seems that there are a lot of drivers who don’t notice the signs. For example, the speed limit sings are clearly posted all around town. I know exactly where the speed limit changes from 35 to 40 and from 40 to 45 and from 45 to 50 and back to 45 on my drive out Sheridan Lake Road. Some days, however, it seems like I’m the only one who notices such things. Nearly every day I get behind someone who drives 45 in the 50 mph zone, but who also drives 45 in the 40 mph and the 35 mph zones.
So, if offenders don’t read the signs, what are the chances that they will have their lives changed by the temporary signs that the highway department has put up for a holiday weekend? Hmm. . . it is a good thing that the city purchased those signs for other purposes. It would be a shame if they spent all that money to purchase signs that people simply won’t read.
But then, again, I don’t think like the people who decide where to put the signs and what they should say.
So drive carefully out there. It is a holiday. There might be some drivers who aren’t as careful as you. Better yet, stay home to celebrate the 4th. If enough of us did that, the stores would stop thinking that they have to be open on the holiday.