PUBLISHER'S PERSPECTIVES:
Sign of the Times

Michael Vidor/Publisher

Jan/Feb 2009

We forget how lucky we are to inhabit one of the top places. We overlook that tourists flock here from the world over to get what we can bag anytime. Traveling closer to home is a smart sign of the times.

Rather than fret over whether to travel abroad or to Disneyland, considering the greater Central Coast region first is a no-brainer. There are enormous possibilities, particularly now as tourism and high-season prices ebb. It's not what you already know, rather what you don't. Click here to Get More information for your trip.

Nationally acclaimed places are within minutes from your every indulgence. Now is the time to get out and travel the CC--out there sowing local business and reaping greater value, while bolstering our Central Coast economy.

Play a road game with your companion or family. Discover ways that Caltrans spends tax dollars in strange ways.

On northbound 101 in San Luis County there is an electronic digital sign looming over the lanes. When these message boards first appeared in 1984 I thought they could be useful tools on swiftly moving urban freeways.

Anyway, this huge sign could spell out useful and helpful, information like: Accident Ahead or Right Lane Closed or Casey Jones You Better Watch Your Speed or Trouble Ahead, Trouble Behind (and you know that notion just crossed your mind) or Feed the Poor or Got Milk? But no.

It says... Click it or Ticket .

The agency that created the campaign must be swollen with pride over having rhymed those words. Yes I know it is the law to wear a seatbelt and have insurance. The message has been drummed into my head for decades. We should pass a law against idiots rather than flash the message overhead in two foot high letters.

You'll find other bad signs on rural roads that flash your speed as you roll by and flash faster when you exceed the limit. I'm not sure why we should care. What's more, we found two on the same road that are both dumb beyond comprehension.

One is adjacent to a four corners stop in the middle of lettuce fields and negligible traffic. When you turn in the direction of this flasher it is so close to the corner that if you floor it in a Maserati you couldn't possibly break the speed limit. I've tried, just not in a Maserati.

The other flasher is on a hill as you approach the urban fringe. The other side spills onto a four-lane boulevard with an extended hospital and school zone. It would be a good idea if you were cautioned as you enter the zone.

But no. The sign is installed on the approach side of the hill as you head in the opposite direction so it flashes your speed long after you pass the hospital and school and are headed back out into the fields.

Some signs make no sense. At least these were solar generated and Made in America , which makes them green but leaves me red. Have you seen any strange signs of the times?

Get More Publisher's Perspectives:
September 2008: Economics 101
October 2008: Right in the Gut
November 2008: Ramble On
December 2008: Just the Fax
April 2009: Signs that Wear on You
May 2009: Get in the Game
June 2009: Maintain Our Values
September 2009: It's a Google World After All...
October 2009: Waiting for The Dough

back to top