Rules of the Road: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''In fiction, road signs mean '''''exactly''''' what they say.''}}
If the speed limit sign says 250, you had better be doing 250. If a yellow caution sign warns of an impenetrable snarl of an intersection, a 360-degree vertical loop, or a moose, guess what you're about to see?
Further, any law-enforcement along the road will measure your performance according to the road signs (no matter how ludicrous, and even if they've been recently vandalized) and praise or punish you accordingly.
Often a version of a [[Visual Pun]]. See also [[Can't You Read the Sign?|Can't You Read The Sign]].
In a rare aversion people who are either [[Genre Savvy]] or extremely horror-movie tier violent will disregard or kill the [[Too Dumb to Live]] people who are enforcing idiotically vandalised signs. Often leads to jokes regarding the "Slow Children Playing" sign.
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Pee
** This scene is noted for [[Special Effects Failure]], as you can see the signs moving along a track toward the camera.
* One of the ''[[Cannonball Run]]'' films showed a racer sticking numbers to a speed limit sign, changing it from 55
** They were driving a Lamborghini. So yeah...
* ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'' has a map that says that there's a fork in the road. Sure, the road branches into two, but there's also a GIANT fork in the road! (which is apparently a real landmark)
{{quote|
'''Fozzie:''' Yessir, turn left at the fork in the road... Kermit!
''[They literally turn at a giant fork in the road]''
'''Kermit:''' I don't believe it. }}
* ''National Lampoon's When Nature Calls'' has, in succession, "Bear Left" (with a bear on the sign's left), "Bear Right" (same thing but reversed), and "[[Fan Service|Bare Breasts]]" ([[Exactly What It Says
== Literature ==
* Invoked in the short story "Absolute Limits", in which frustrated government scientists note that everyone on the highway always breaks the speed
== [[Live Action Television]] ==
* ''[[
* The 'Tank Crossing' sign below was shown once in an episode of ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''. For some reason, it was on the tank's road and not the cart path it crossed.
== Music Videos ==
* In the video for the ''[[
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* The cover of a paperback collection of ''[[
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* The [[Web Original]] ''[[There She Is]]'' by SamBakZa has a No Cat and Bunny romance road sign. This is enforced by prejudicial cats and bunnies all over the city.
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/arenamontanus/sets/72157594323393196/ This
* [http://fc57.deviantart.com/fs27/f/2008/175/0/0/Pyramid_Head_X_ing_by_GlobalWolf.jpg Pyramid Head frequents this street.]{{Dead link}}
* Several in ''[[Cracked.com]]'''s [http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_390_32-alternate-interpretations-common-warning-signs/ 32 Alternate Interpretations of Common Warning Signs].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In the obligatory ''[[Wacky Races]]''-styled episode of ''[[The Wuzzles]]'', one of Crock's myriad (backfiring) attempts to cheat involves doctoring an ordinary "Speed Limit 55 MPH" sign to read "Speed Limit ''155'' MPH". Rhinokey sees the sign and dutifully obeys it, but when Crock and his goons try to follow, traffic cop Eagle Beagle gives them a ticket for ''driving too slow''.
** Special note: this would fall under [[Genre Blind]], too. The scheme was to get Rhinokey arrested for speeding.
* ''[[
* In ''[[Wacky Races]]'', many of the times [[Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat]], it involves him flipping a directional sign so the arrow points in the other direction. Or he yanks a real road sign out of the ground so the others will miss the turn, or changes a 35
* In the opening credits of ''[[I Am Weasel]]'', Weasel's driving a convertible with a hot blonde. But he passes a road sign that reads "LOGO". He leaps out of the car in the direction the sign indicates, and jumps into the logo for the show.
* This was a favorite gag of [[Tex Avery]]. If a character passed a "Fork ahead" sign, he would then bump into a giant fork sticking out of the ground. A "Hairpin turn" sign would indicate that the road would look ''exactly'' like a hairpin. And when characters stop at a school crossing, what should cross the road but a schoolhouse on two legs.
* [[Looney Tunes|Wile E. Coyote]] would frequently attempt to utilize these in his pursuit of the Road Runner. Unfortunately for him, Road Runners can't read.
* One of the ''[[
* ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' did this with "Cheese Crossing" and "Slow Children Playing" signs.
== [[Truth in Television]] ==
* [[Real Life]] example: [
* There are also signs in [[Real Life]] that warn of speed bumps. They often simply read BUMP, or sometimes HUMP AHEAD.
** Travel tip- when the State of Vermont puts a sign up saying FROST HEAVE, the frost heave will be ''much'' larger than average.
** In Mexico, the signs read "TOPE" and may have a picture of the device. They tend to be very large and very steep, often enough to damage a car going much faster than 20 MPH. Residents of rural areas may build their own by felling trees.
* And signs which read "Do not back up. SEVERE TIRE DAMAGE". They are not kidding.
* Speed limits in general - it is considered good etiquette to drive as close to the speed limit as conditions allow.
* The Brits have [
* Similarly, the [
* Approaching Denver from the west on I-70 are several signs warning about the steep grades and sharp curves. They all have huge letters and start with "DON'T BE FOOLED" and "TRUCKERS, YOU ARE NOT DOWN YET."
* In Norway they have [
** Also, polar bear crossings. [http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/danukedev/isbjornskilt.jpg Applies to all Svalbard.]
* In Duarte, California there is a [http://i46.tinypic.com/2qj9310.jpg nun crossing sign].
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[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]
[[Category:
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