Signs

Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) came by the other morning and added some signs to the road. The stop sign in front of my driveway used to look like this:

The post was wooden, so it was likely to snap off if anyone ran into it. The sign was pretty scarred up where various farm-related vehicles had scraped it.  Plus, it didn't work very well. Only a few people actually stopped at it. Some didn't even slow down as they made the turn.

Now we have a shiny new sign on a metal post that will likely put a serious dent into any vehicle hitting it. The road number signs have been relocated to a separate metal post across the road—and beside the wooden post that bears the road names. 

The sign didn't stay shiny for long. It's only been there a few days, and already it's accumulated some scrape-marks.

VDOT added a bunch more signs along the road, too. Can you see a new one in the picture below? Look just above my mailbox.

Maybe you can see it better in the photo below. 

Farther down the road, on both sides of the Hainted Holler turn, VDOT posted signs that lowered the speed limit to a reasonable—and much safer—level. 

Otherwise, the rest of the road now seems to have a 45 mph limit, which is actually a bit faster than what we're comfortable doing. Around here, you never know when you're going to encounter a tractor or manure spreader or horseback riders or wild critters, so it's best to err on the side of caution. 

Below, a new sign has appeared in the same spot where I encountered a big bear crossing the road two summers ago. If I'd been going as fast as 45 then, both my truck and the bear would have been history—or at least a big mess. 

We have several folks in the area who seem to think the road is a speedway. I wonder if they'll slow down now. Maybe they'll at least slow down for the new stop sign.

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