Driving down highways or interstates during holiday seasons are always a little more interesting when the message boards warning for your safety have their puns on them, but the federal government is cracking down on states that use funny signs.

The Variable Message Signs (VMS) are for missing people, bad weather conditions, or crashes ahead. When they aren't being used for a specific alert, they'll be used for broad messages, like reminders to buckle your seatbelt, or warning motorists to not drive drunk.

Some states like to have fun with those messages, but the feds say no more.

The Federal Highway Administration, a subsection of the DOT, has issued new guidelines for safety messages forbidding funny messages on the Variable Message Signs.

The argument of course is that the humorous messages are more memorable and more likely to make an impact.

The FHA says that some of the messages that include music or movie references are lost on anyone who hasn't heard the song or seen the movie referenced.

Most upset about the issue argue that the amount of information on some of the standard alerts are just as distracting to try and read.

So, maybe the happy medium isn't removing the humor altogether, but maybe removing pop culture references.

We've put together a list of some of our favorite messages from around the country, which you can check out below.

Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Ohio Department of Transportation
Ohio Department of Transportation
loading...
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department Transportation
Arizona Department Transportation
loading...
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Department of Transportation
loading...
Arizona Department of Transportation
Arizona Department of Transportation
loading...
Nevada Highway Patrol
Nevada Highway Patrol
loading...
97X logo
Get our free mobile app

LOOK: Controversial songs from the year you were born

Stacker celebrates history's most boundary-pushing—and thereby controversial—songs from 1930 through today.

Gallery Credit: Stacker

More From 97X