[a fool in paradise]

The Federal Highway Administration said the new sign standards improve safety because they allow drivers to identify words more quickly, allowing them to swiftly bring their eyes back to the road.

Makework.

I loath the new signs I've seen. They (A) are not as readable (Helvetica for better or worse has been the standard for all sorts of typography for over 4 decades, there's even a documentary available on DVD through netflix and elsewhere titled simply HELVETICA). And (B), the signs I am seeing are not even reflective. So you can't see them as far down the road.

[SZonian]

Re: reading signs, here’s my $0.02...

I was driving through Ojai, CA for the first time last weekend. We got there at night and were trying to find the street that would take us to our destination.

I couldn’t read the street names.

Why?

The signs were a dark, almost redwood color, the names were routered into the wood and appeared to be painted black.