By: David Matthews
Sign language
If you’re a binge drinker who’s tired of spending all of your “lost weekends” in Cancun or Panama City, it might be time to give Pecica, Romania, a try.
The party never stops in this village of 13,000, located just 13 miles from the Hungarian border. In fact, the revelry has begun spilling out into the streets, with drunken pedestrians causing an increasing number of auto accidents.
The situation prompted the town’s mayor to request street signs warning motorists of plastered partygoers who may inadvertently stumble into the road.
Illustrating these signs posed an interesting challenge to the Pecica DOT. How do you conceptualize an inebriated pedestrian in a manner that will both be easily understood and taken seriously?
They decided on a stick-figure person crawling on all fours clutching a bottle, above the words “Attention - Drunks.” The sign was then outlined in a bright, reflective red border.
Ten signs were posted in early March in popular nightspot areas near restaurants and bars. They certainly succeeded in grabbing people’s attention, so much so that the ensuing publicity caused the mayor to remove the signs after just one week.
In their place are new signs with the much more demure warning of “Other Dangers.”
An actual roads report
Reader’s Digest recently assembled a report on the best, worst and deadliest roads in America based on recent data from the Federal Highway Administration.
Their conclusion: You can find it all in Montana.
Factoring in safety, congestion and the overall condition of roads and bridges, the state considered to have the best roads overall was Kansas, followed by Wisconsin, Montana, New Mexico and Utah.
On the other hand, based on fatality statistics, the report found that the deadliest roads overall are in Montana, followed by Louisiana, South Carolina, West Virginia and Arkansas.
It seems strange at first to see Montana recognized for having the third-best roads, and yet also the deadliest. However, researchers found that while Montana has good infrastructure and little congestion, too many drivers still drink, drive recklessly and shun seat belts.
In response, Montana’s governor said he would check on the whereabouts of those unused Romanian street signs.
Taking the show on the road
Hoping for a top five finish on next year’s deadliest roads list, Florida officials have permitted the Déjà Vu gentlemen’s club in Tampa to drive a “Stripper Mobile” around town.
The Stripper Mobile is actually a converted U-Haul truck with the cargo area replaced by a giant Plexiglas box in which scantily clad women pole dance to the delight (or horror) of motorists and pedestrians.
Shortly after the Stripper Mobile arrived in Tampa earlier this year, it was grounded by police while they investigated its legality. In March the truck was allowed back on the streets on the conditions that the dancers refrain from simulating sex acts and keep their swimsuit areas covered at all times.
The Stripper Mobile isn’t new to controversy. It was originally created by a Déjà Vu franchise in Las Vegas last fall, but was run out of town after just two weeks by county leaders who deemed it unseemly and unsafe.
Not wanting to waste their investment, Déjà Vu figured their dancing lady wagon would be a better fit in Tampa, where the new tourism slogan is, “Sorta Like Las Vegas, But Trashier!”
