TxDOT's cheeky highway signs to disappear — here's why

The Texas Department of Transportation's tongue-in-cheek highway signs will soon be a thing of the past following new federal mandates.

TEXAS (KXAN) — “Feast Your Eyes on the Road — Drive Safely.” “Horns Up, Phones Down, It Can Wait.” “Only Rudolph Should Drive Lit.”

Those are just a handful of tongue-in-cheek signs the Texas Department of Transportation has used to alert drivers along Texas roadways. But those will soon be a thing of the past, following new federal mandates issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.

It's a change states across the country have two years to adopt, per the FHA's latest "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices," released in December. That document noted traffic safety messages are intended to be "simple, direct, brief, legible, and clear" as well as "relevant to the road user on the roadway on which the message is displayed."

Messages with obscure or secondary meanings, such as those with popular culture references, unconventional sign legend syntax, or that are intended to be humorous, should not be used as they might be misunderstood or understood only by a limited segment of road users and require greater time to process and understand. Similarly, slogan-type messages and the display of statistical information should not be used.

Federal Highway Administration's 11th edition Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, pg. 519

This isn't the first time the federal government has taken issue with the quippy highway signs. The FHA instructed the New Jersey Department of Transportation to take down its "witticisms" on highway message boards in November 2022. The NJDOT had been sharing puns on its message boards, such as "Hocus pocus, drive with focus" and "Slow down. This ain't Thunder Road."

It marked the first update to the federal transportation manual since 2009, according to a late December release from the U.S. Department of Transportation. In addition to electronic messaging, the manual also sets national standards and requirements for traffic signs, signals and pavement markings.

“The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices is a vitally important guidebook that affects safety on countless roads around the country,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the December release. "With this long-awaited update to the MUTCD, we are helping our state and local partners make it safer to walk, bike, and drive, and embracing new technologies with the potential to make our transportation system safer and more efficient.”

KXAN has reached out to TxDOT for comment regarding the latest federal regulations. We will update this story if we receive a response.