I graduated from New York University in May1985 with a degree in Journalism. Because of this, I love to write and I am a stickler for good grammar.
When I see bad grammar on street signs, it literally makes me nuts! Although many street signs have bad grammar, most people can figure out what the message is supposed to be.
Some Examples
Ioftenseestreetsignsthatread:“Children at Play.” Although I understand what the sign is saying, I can’t understand why the sign just doesn’t read: “Watch Out (or Be Alert) for Children Playing.” Doesn’t that make more sense?
Another street sign I often see reads: “Reduced Speed Ahead.” Again, although I understand what this means, wouldn’t it make more sense for the sign to simply read: “Slow Down Ahead”?
It’s laughable that the people who create these signs have no idea what a possessive apostrophe is or how to use it. The sign reads “No Trucks or RV’s in Left Lane”. There doesn’t need to be an apostrophe (‘) between the “V” and “s.”
My favorite bad grammar street sign is on Route 1 South in New Brunswick, NJ. The sign reads: “Cars Only May Use Shoulder 6 AM to 10 AM and 4 PM and 7 PM Mon – Fri.” Again, most of us know what the street sign is trying to say – but if you look closely and use a brain cell or two, you will notice that the wording implies that cars can only use the shoulder (and no other part of the road). If the words “Cars” and “Only” were switched to
“Only Cars May Use Shoulder 6 AM to 10 AM and 4 PM and 7 PM Mon – Fri,” that would be better grammar, I believe.
Wrong Way
There have been numerous accidents when people drive on the wrong side of the road or enter the exit ramp of an expressway. Sometimes the drivers are sober; sometimes not.
In my opinion, the current signs that read: “Wrong Way” is not enough… there should be additional signs at the exit ramp, saying; “Stop” and “Do Not Enter.” Do you agree?
Road crews should also install spring loaded “Tiger’s Teeth” that do not puncture tires when vehicles are driving in the correct direction. When a vehicle drives onto the expressway in the wrong direction, the flexible tiger’s teeth will puncture the tires of the vehicle.
Right on Red?
When stopped at a red light, a driver can turn right at that red light in every
U.S. state and city, except New York City. If there is a sign that reads: “No Turn on Red,” that implies the driver cannot turn right on red. Why doesn’t the sign read: “No Right Turn on Red”? Does someone actually think a driver would make a left turn at a red light?
The Spoken Word
Sometimes, when I hear people talk, I cringe. Here are some examples:
“Me and John went to the same school.” The correct way to say this is: “John and I went to the same school.”
Another common grammatical error, in my opinion, is saying “that” when “who” is the correct word. For example: “John is the person that joined the company most recently.” The correct way to say this is: “John is the person who joined the company most recently.”
The moral of this Street Story is this: Even if a street sign is grammatically incorrect, you must still obey the rules of the road. The grammar police are bad; the traffic police are tougher.
Robert Stovall is Training Manager, Mentor and Senior Executive Chauffeur for The Leros Transportation Group, with offices in Valhalla, NY, Parsippany, NJ and Trevose, PA. Robert can be reached at rstovall@lerostg.com.
