road signs

I used to believe when i was little that the signs that read "Slow CHILDREN Ahead" was really, really mean.

I never understood why they wanted us to know there were slow children up ahead.

Kimmie

You know those exit ramps on the highway that say "exit only"? When I was a kid, I used to think if you got off on one of those exits, you could not get back on the highway. I actually discovered the truth at age . . . well, let me put it this way. I was driving my own car when it finally dawned on me that those signs just meant the LANE was exit only!

Carmen

Before I was big enough to see over the dash of the car, I used to believe that all stop signs were held up by road workers. It was okay to proceed when the worker ran away with the sign and hid in a bush. I thank my older sister for that belief.

anonymous

I spent some time at a cottage when I was a kid. There was a sign from the Ministry of Transportation (M.O.T) at the local marina (run by a first nations band) that said "SLOW RIGHT DOWN / NO WAKE / M.O.T"

I always figured if we didn't slow the boat down enough the sleeping MOT monster would wake up and eat us...

Antony

As a child I would notice the "Road slick when wet signs" (with the wavy lines below the silhouette of the car) and think that it was a warning that this crazy octopus creature could be found on that stretch of road.

Andrew

Whenever I saw those "Deaf Children" signs in some neighborhoods, I thought they said "Decaf Children", so the children were extra slow to get out of the way of cars.

Delilah

I used to believe that a pedestrian was an alien, so that when I saw signs that said "Pedestrian Crossway Up Ahead" or "Beware of Pedestrians" I'd get scared.

Anon

I used to believe that the numbers on the signs above overpasses telling the clearance height were actually math problems for me to add up so that I would have something to do on long car trips.

Abby

I used to wonder why it was okay for my parents to pass the "do not pass" sign while they were driving. I always thought we were going to get in trouble.

Sarah

As a kid, I took all road signs very literally. If it was 80 degrees in the summer, I wondered how the bridge would freeze before the road in such warm weather.

Todd K

When driving downtown one day, my four-year old daughter was mentioned that it was a good thing she didn't have to go pee because I had parked right by a building with no bathrooms. I was confused until she showed me the sign with a large P and a slash through it (No Parking).

SusanS.

You know how highways have turn-around lanes between opposing traffic for emergency vehicles to use? They also almost always have a sign that says "Violators will be prosecuted." Being a little kid, I thought that was the same as "Violators will be executed." It didn't help matters when I asked my dad, "They wouldn't really prosecute them, would they?" And my dad said, "You bet they would!"

Jim Thomason

I thought the no overtaking sign meant that red cars cannot drive by black cars.

Helen

I convinced my sister that stop signs with white lines around them were optional....you could stop-if you want. She believed until she happened to notice that ALL stop signs had white lines around them

Minna

I can remember riding in the car as a child and seeing signs on the side of the road that read "Do Not Pass". I was always nervous that my parents were going to get in trouble for not stopping. They never seemed to even contemplate stopping, and no other cars ever stopped, either. These signs were often followed by "Pass with Care" signs, which made me think that we had to be especially cautious for some reason when traveling there. I was always aware that nobody else seemed to be upset by all the illegal "passing" that was going on so I figured they had to know something I didn't and that it would be revealed to me in time. I knew I would get laughed at if I asked out loud, so I never did. I would watch from the back seat to see if they saw the sign and if they would slow down or look out for hidden obstacles.

Yes, I am still neurotic.

hillbilligrl

i used to believe that when we were travelling to my grandmas house that there were actually signs that said "one more hour til grandmas house!" haha

mary

When I was young, my mother told me you had to cross the street "only on the white lines," meaning the crosswalk. But I thought this meant you could only walk on the white part of the crosswalk, so I would have to jump from one line to the next. I thought if you stepped on the black part, the cars wouldn't stop for you anymore and you would get run over! I think I've got it figured out now...

Evilrabbit

Whenver i saw the sign " No riding on shoulder", i thought it meant you couldn't drive while on someones shoulders. After that i would look for people sitting on eachothers shoulders and driving!

Erin~

For the longest time, I never understood the road signs- Pedestrian Xing. Truck Xing. Deer Xing. "What in the heck does xing mean", I thought. "And how did you pronounce it"?

Becky

When I was about 4 years old I was convinced that the red and yellow reflectors on metal poles that you see by the roadside were really lollipops. I really really wanted one of those lollipops and used to beg my parents to please stop and let me get one. Boy was I disappointed when they finally caved in one day and let me try to get a lollipop...

The Blue Wyvern