Redundant Indiana traffic signs border on ridiculous
By Nick Hytrek
Senior Editor
Making a U-turn on Interstate74
through Indiana is illegal.
So is stopping, standing or park
ing on the shoulder.
If you forget these simple traffic
laws while passing through Indi
ana, you’ll be reminded . . . again
and again.
i was going to Cincinnati to
cover the Nebraska-Connecticut
NCAA Basketball Tournament game
with Shaun, one of the Daily Ne
braskan photographers. It was the
middle of the night, so all we could
see was the pavement in front of us
and the glare of the signs.
Shaun and I were continually
confronted with these little traffic
reminders.
And it wasn’t just traffic laws.
Every three miles for the first 15
miles into Indiana, we saw a sign
that told us how far it was to
Indianapolis. Being only college
seniors, this was a big help to us.
(Everyone knows how tricky sub
traction by three can get.)
At first we found the repetition
humorous, then almost ridiculous.
Maybe the friendly people of Indi
ana would tell us that the speed
limit was 65.
“Why the barrage of signs?” we
asked each other.
No simple answer was obvious
for the frequent reminders, but we
finally came to three conclusions:
1. The Indiana State Patrol is
lazy. By putting up several hundred
signs, the patrol must figure motor
ists will realize these are traffic
offenses and obey the rules of the
road. This leaves more time for
officers to sit in doughnut shops
instead of ticketing drivers for U
turns.
2. Indiana drivers are stupid,
needing several reminders of the
simplest of traffic laws to get the
point through their thick skulls.
3. Indiana citizens think other
drivers are stupid and they need to
remind out-of-state drivers of the
traffic laws, even if the same laws
exist elsewhere.
We figured that the Indiana State
Department must be rich. How else
could they afford to put an average
of 10 signs every mile? Think I’m
kidding? Consider the following:
• I’m not kidding when I say
that No U-turn and No Standing,
Stopping or Parking on the Shoul
der signs appear every three miles.
• Any exit from 1-74 is preceded
by four signs placed so close to
gether that little grass grows be
tween the signs because the ground
is usually shaded.
• If you’re approaching a state
park, believe me, you’ll know about
it well in advance. You’ll also be
reminded that you’re getting closer
and closer.
Maybe it’s just Indiana’s way of
being kind and helpful. After all,
Indiana is the land of “Hoosier
Hospitality.”
The sign at the Indiana-Illinois
border even says so.
Big Apple
Continued from Page 7
bus system isn’t as friendly as a
Dodge. I don’t know how to work
the rear-window wiper on a New
ark bus. I’m not sure the bus has
one.
During our time in the city, we
would often see graffiti-smothered
I
minivans and wistfully feel for our
Dodge. Many thoughts ran through
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way:
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esting conversations? How can I
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tive element. We saw taxicabs and
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and we it.
1 The Dodge had made friends, as:
we had, but the time had come to
return to our native land.
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