Austin road sign compliments safe drivers

An electronic display praises drivers who stay under the speed limit with personalized messages.

1 minute read

August 4, 2026, 8:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Electronic sign on roadside with 29 in green and Thank You in yellow below it.

A responsive electronic road sign. | Brian Clifford / Shutterstock

A road sign installed by an insurance company on a roadside in Austin, Texas compliments drivers on maintaining a legal speed, reports Hunter Schwarz in Fast Company.

The billboard uses a nearby spotter to identify cars by color and make and issue personalized messages to drivers going under the speed limit. The insurance company, Lemonade, says it hopes the positive messaging approach will improve safety, unlike negative electronic messaging, which has been shown to sometimes increase crashes.

In Finland, a similar project using a sign that showed drivers who drove near the speed limit a smiley face and speeders a frowning face led to a statistically significant reduction in speeding — even after the signs were taken down.

Monday, August 3, 2026 in Fast Company

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