School zones serve an obvious and important role in pedestrian safety because no one wants to hit a kid. Zone enforcement usually lasts a few hundred feet over a large chunk of time in the morning and afternoon. This school zone sign in Michigan tries to break up that solid time slot. The result has been hilariously disastrous.
There are three schools on the stretch of road in Oakland County where this sign exists, according to The Oakland Press, necessitating various school zone periods.
And here's how they're currently displayed: 6:49-7:15, 7:52-8:22, 8:37-9:07, 2:03-2:33, 3:04-3:34, 3:59-4:29.
Good luck trying to parse that while driving. If you can process that information in just three seconds you've still covered nearly 200 feet at the posted speed limit.
The sign's been a source of ridicule on Facebook, where residents have taken to voice their complaints:
Glenn Remington Slow down, OK now, slow down again still, OK oops wait, slow down again, still OK, wait, go, wait again, go, stop, just kidding, get out of the way of the durn bus…
Local officials are planning to meet to discuss the sign, which a spokesman for the Oakland County Road Commission says is the result of the school district not wanting to pay their share for an automatic sign with electrical flashers.
If the school district is so opposed to just marking off a couple of hours of time for a 25 mph zone and doesn't want to pay for a better sign, why not at least round the numbers to more comprehensible 15-minute intervals?
Anything has to be better than getting a ticket because your watch said 7:51 am.
(Hat tip to Burglar!)