Clever and Funny Road Signs Work, According to the Virginia Department of Transportation

by Gabrielle DeSantis

While road signs exist primarily for pedestrian and car safety, the Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT) has proven that these signs can also be entertaining. Messages on the state’s digital signs can be changed as needed or desired by traffic officials. Additionally, these messages go way beyond “Don’t drink and drive” or “Buckle up.” 

One day, a sign may warn drivers about changing weather conditions. The next day, it can post a pop culture reference to remind drivers to slow down: “Driving fast and furious? That’s Ludacris.” These signs aren’t just an off-the-cuff idea from a few VDOT employees, though.

There’s some science behind Virginia’s funny road signs

A funny road sign altered by a prank | Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Both National Public Radio (NPR) and Washington DC’s Fox 5 reported on the VDOT’s humorous digital road signs. The organization put some serious research into these signs. The VDOT enlisted help from a team of researchers at Virginia Tech and 300 volunteer drivers. The volunteers were asked to look at a variety of messages while wearing a brain mapping helmet. 

These messages included, “Texting While Driving? Oh, Cell No,” “Buckle Up, Save $25 And Your Life,” and “Be On Santa’s Nice List, Drive Politely.” The volunteers’ brain activity—along with verbal confirmation—showed researchers which types of messages were memorable, understood, and had the most impact. Phrases that included wordplay, pop culture, and holiday-themed messages came out on top. Meanwhile, statements that included sports references fared poorly.

Virginia started using funny road signs in 2017. While the state may have been one of the first municipalities to use this tactic, other regions are using humor in the hopes of making roadways safer.

Catchy road signs are everywhere

Virginia isn’t the only municipality with a keen sense of humor. Canadian website Driving compiled a roundup of some of North America’s funniest digital road signs. 

During the winter, drivers in Alberta have been cautioned, “Do not let moose lick your car.” These large animals love to lick road salt off of cars. Some drivers slow down and even stop to film these encounters. Unfortunately, this behavior makes moose less wary of people and moving vehicles, leading to future accidents.

Georgia held a contest where residents could submit their road sign ideas.  Messages needed to fit into several categories, including seatbelts, impaired driving, and general safety. Two of the contest’s winners were, “Look left, look right, keep workers in sight” and “If you miss your exit, it’s okay, we made more up ahead.” 

These signs inject a little humor into rush hour. However, along with other measures like backup cameras, their primary intent is to reduce accidents and fatalities. So, do these funny road signs accomplish that goal?

How effective are Virginia’s funny road signs?

Clever road signs make for great social media posts, but they may not make the roads any safer. One danger of catchy phrases on digital road signs is that people are tempted to take photos of them. For passengers, that’s totally fine. However, for anyone at the wheel, the signs could end up contributing to distracted driving.

NPR reported that Virginia and many other states actually saw an increase in motor vehicle accidents and fatalities in 2020. Due to the pandemic, traffic was lighter than usual. However, traffic speeds increased with fewer cars on the road. In the end, funny road signs are meaningless if drivers don’t follow traffic laws.

RELATED: 10 Countries With Crazy Traffic Laws

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Did Kia Make Their New Logo so Illegible That It’s Unrecognizable

by Gabrielle DeSantis

As new Kia vehicles begin to roll off of the dealership lots and onto the roads, more drivers may notice that the badging looks just a bit different — actually, a lot different. It came with the underwhelming rebranding and minor name change that came from Kia in the past year, and, in an attempt to make the badge more modern, they may have accidentally made it less recognizable because it is a bit hard to read. Regardless, it still may have been the best move for the manufacturer.

The Kia brand gets a facelift

Kia booth | VCG, Getty Images

The new Kia logo is a bit off-putting to some drivers, and yes, we also see that it is slightly crooked. But, what really stood out to me was the past few weeks of seeing new 2022 Kia models on the road, but even more so, the people contacting me to ask exactly what the badge was, one, in particular, asked, “what manufacturer has a K and a backward N for a logo” — which, although comical, wasn’t an incorrect description of how the Kia log appears, and, if you weren’t familiar with the vehicle you were looking at, it could definitely be confusing.

A new look for a new reputation

The change in name and badging was intentional from Kia as they began to turn a new leaf in the automotive community. Once unpopular and disregarded at the hands of the generally disliked — especially by social media — Kia Soul, newer, more popular models haven’t just taken the stage; they’ve completely stolen the show. This couldn’t be more true for the Kia Telluride, which has been at the top of the headlines since its original debut and has stolen the favor of many buyers who may have previously disregarded Kia as a brand worth buying.

The new Kia badging will just take time to get used to

More than likely, it will just take time for us to get used to the new Kia logo, and, although it is less legible than the previous badging choice, it is still easier to recognize than some brands that don’t include their name in the badging, such as Subaru. As the 2022 models begin to make their way to the dealerships and onto the roads, the new logo will slowly become more and more common, and, perhaps along with its change, will come a new public favoring of the brand that has managed to not only reinvent itself but also dominate certain market niches with new vehicles, such as the Telluride.

It isn’t very often that major automotive manufacturers opt for a complete rebranding, but it seems to be the right move for the brand. When the brand became most well-known, it was for the Kia Soul, which isn’t a very popular or even well-liked vehicle — and the Kia Soul is somehow considered an SUV. In the past few years, the manufacturer has developed and released better, higher quality, and more popular vehicle options that has completely shifted public opinion in a positive way, making some of their vehicles the most sought-after choices in several vehicle segments, and with the release of the Kia Carnival, it shows that the up and coming manufacturer isn’t planning on stopping any time soon.

RELATED: Finally, a Market Niche Kia Doesn’t Dominate According to Edmunds

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F1: Do Formula 1 Cars Drive in the Rain?

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend did not exactly go as planned. The weather was quite rainy all week leading up to the race, but it really started to pour on race day. When it comes to Formula 1 cars, can these race cars drive in the rain well enough to finish an F1 race?

Does Formula 1 race in the rain?

F1: Do Formula 1 cars drive in the rain? | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

Formula 1 vehicles can ultimately drive in the rain, but racing is a different story. The F1 cars have multiple sets of tires: soft, medium, hard and wet tires. According to Pirelli, there are two wet tire options. These are the Cinturato Green intermediate and Cinturato Blue full wet tires.

Pirelli calls the Cinturato Green intermediate wet tires. Pirelli notes that these are more versatile wet tires. “They can be used on a wet track with no standing water, as well as a drying surface. This tire evacuates 30 liters of water per second per tire at 300kph.”

The Cinturato Blue full wet tires are better for heavy rain. These are equipped to evacuate 85 liters of water per second. Pirelli said that “when it rains heavily, visibility rather than grip causes issues.” Such a situation is exactly what happened at the Belgian Grand Prix.

F1 results 2021: Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix

Equipped with Pirelli tires, the Formula 1 cars were able to drive in the rain. The issue that prevented an entire race was visibility. Like driving behind a large truck on the highway, rain droplets and traffic cause a loss of visibility. Max Verstappen could see around the safety car because the safety car was only giving off a small amount of spray. Any driver behind Verstappen likely couldn’t see anything.

In the Formula 1 post-race press conference, Paul Di Resta interviewed Verstappen, George Russell, and Lewis Hamilton. Resta asked Verstapped what his biggest concern was during the race, specifically if visibility posed a thread.

“I guess that was the biggest problem. I mean the grip was low, we know that, in the wet. We don’t have a lot of grip with these tyres but when you can’t see where you are going or you don’t know where the car ahead of you is, that’s never really nice, so you can’t properly race like that.”

Max Verstappen | Formula 1

Trying to conduct a race with poor visibility, low tire grip, and a wet track doesn’t make sense. It is unsafe for the drivers and those working at the track to do so.

The rain won this round, along with Max Verstappen

With the rain cutting the race short, this was the shortest F1 race in history, surpassing Australia in 1991. In addition, it was only the sixth time The FIA gave a race half points since 1975. The cars could get on the track for two laps behind the safety car before the race was finally suspended.

In conclusion, Formula 1 cars can drive in the rain, but racing in the rain is a different story. The situation has no presented itself very frequently either. FIA Race Director Michael Masi said, “obviously from the FIA perspective and jointly with Formula 1, safety is paramount for drivers, the teams, and all of the spectators.” Safety first, racing second.

RELATED: Formula 1: Should the Guilty Team Have to Pay for Repairs After a Crash?

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Tesla Is One Step Closer to Supplying Electricity to Texas

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Tesla does everything, or it feels like that sometimes. They make cars, solar panels, and potentially robots. SpaceX works on spaceships. Now will Tesla supplying Texas with electricity? They’ve filed the necessary paperwork to do just that. 

A Tesla Solar sign | Alex Tai/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Why does Tesla want to supply Texas with electricity?

In February of 2021, Texas experienced a massive power outage that affected a large portion of the state. Much of Texas was impacted by the power outage. People were left without power for days, and more than 100 people died because of it. 

Part of the problem was that Texas operates on its own grid. Tesla wants to change that by providing electricity directly to customers in Texas. Tesla filed with the Public Utility Commission to become Tesla Energy Ventures, according to The Hill. As Tesla Energy Ventures, Tesla would store 100 megawatt electricity on the grid. 

Tesla’s plan includes using its current employees from their solar panel company. They’ll also partner with Engie Energy Marketing. The decision on Tesla’s filing will be made in November of 2021.

If Tesla does become an energy company in Texas, it’s likely that they would allow energy users that also have solar panels to earn money if they contribute excess energy back into the grid. Although there are currently dozens of other companies trying to break into Texas’ market, Tesla would be a standout in this regard. According to Texas Monthly, 13 electric companies have applied to sell power in Texas since the February 2021 power outages.

Texas’ current power supply isn’t like most states

Texas uses the Texas Interconnection managed by a non-profit called the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The Texas Interconnection is an alternating current power grid. Because it is only in Texas, it isn’t subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations. Roughly 90% of people in Texas are connected to this grid. 

After February’s power outage, Texas began making some changes to the way they manage power. One initiative they are taking includes purchasing more power reserves. They are also increasing the amount of power being generated at any given time. 

This isn’t Tesla’s first voyage into becoming an electric provider

The Hill reports that Tesla has already built “several utility-scale energy storage systems in major key locations such as Los Angeles and Monterey, California and Geelong, Victoria, Adelaide, Australia.” They point out that providing Texas with electricity is a different animal, and one that should not be taken lightly. 

Tesla is also in the process of building a solar-powered neighborhood called SunHouse at Easton Park. All of the houses in the development will have V3 solar panels and charging stations for Teslas. They’ll also be equipped with Powerwall battery storage. Perhaps most interesting of all is that it will have the potential to act as a backup generator when there’s a power outage.

If Tesla does get their application approved in November, it would mean a pretty big opportunity for Tesla. It could also help to ease the kinds of energy problems that led to so many people being without power in February, and ultimately, more than 100 deaths. Things could also continue to improve if other electric companies manage to get into the game, too.

RELATED: Watch This Tesla Take On a Tornado

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