I was driving along Interstate 295 today, when I came across one of those portable digital display signs that warns you about things up ahead–you know, one of those signs made of lightbulbs that can change its message every few seconds.  This one started with this:

 DAYLIGHT
SAVINGS TIME
HAS ENDED

Fair enough.  However, it then changed to:

PLEASE
DRIVE
CAREFUL

Okay, leaving aside the use of the adjective where there should be an adverb, I found this message rather … odd.  So odd, in fact, that I slowed down to watch the message flash by again–I was not sure I had seen it correctly the first time.  As it turned out, I had.

This raises all kinds of questions.  Do people really drive around at 4:30 as it’s getting dark and fail to turn on their headlights because they forgot the clocks were set back?  That does appear to be the implication:  our driving is based not on weather or traffic conditions or how dark it is but what time we think it is.  Being reminded that the clocks were set back, therefore, will cause us to change our driving behavior.  Is that it?

And is this really why this sign was towed to this location?  I’ve driven by that spot quite a bit, and there has not been a portable light sign there before.  It seems the state highway commissioner or the department of transportation or the state police or whoever is in charge of these signs decided it was very important to remind people to drive like it was an hour later–whatever that means–so important in fact that it was worth programming one of these signs and towing it to that spot on the Interstate.

Naturally, these people must be right, and I’m simply overlooking some obvious point of safety.  Accordingly, I implore anyone reading this to remember that we moved our clocks last weekend and that you all, therefore, should drive careful.