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It's a sign (pun intended) of our media-driven culture in the West that we can't even drive down rural highways without somebody blaring an advertisement or warning from some theater-screen-sized billboard. At 60 mph, can one really read 48 signs per mile?? Do we even want people trying? Driver information and instructions are one thing, but the interstate shouldn't be one continuous commercial. We can't see the forest for the trees, and we can't see the trees for the paid political announcements and ads for roadside adult stores (always a fun message to explain to Junior in his car seat...).The spread of signs is also proving an eyesore to country lovers by filling once idyllic rural roads with masses of painted warnings, chicanes, bumps, and 'build-outs' that are completely out of keeping with their surroundings.
An unofficial audit by the CPRE revealed that a seven mile stretch of the rural B3006 in Hampshire, which passes through an area of outstanding natural beauty and the designated South Downs National Park, has an astonishing 335 signs - an average of 48 per mile.
This includes 207 safety signs (such as 'bend ahead'), 44 directional signs, 11 brown tourist signs, 18 blue cycle signs, 18 commercial signs for hotels or attractions, and 30 road-edge reflector poles.
A fortunate few have figured it out, however: Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont don't have billboards. Maybe folks in the Blue States occasionally get something right!
(HT: Drudge)
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