How To Steal A Stop Sign

Illegal removal of street signs

A sticker on the back of this Illinois street sign is intended to deter theft.

Street sign theft occurs when street signs are stolen, to be used as decorations, sold equally scrap metal or to avoid obeying the constabulary by challenge later the sign was not in that location.^{[ citation needed ]} Although the theft often seems capricious, signs with unusual or amusing names tend to exist stolen more than frequently. Sometimes considered to be a prank by the perpetrators, the theft is ofttimes plush and inconvenient (and tin mayhap be unsafe) for the municipality or agency that owns the sign. In the U.s.a., each street sign generally costs between $100 and $500 to replace.^{[1] [ii]}

In police force [edit]

In almost jurisdictions, the theft of traffic signage is treated similar whatsoever other theft with respect to prosecution and sentencing. If, however, the theft leads to an injury, and then the thieves may be found criminally liable for the injury likewise, provided that an injury of that sort was a foreseeable consequence of such a theft. In 1 notable United states case, 3 people were found guilty of manslaughter for stealing a stop sign and thereby causing a deadly collision.^{[3] [4] [5]} This was publicized in the novel Driver's Ed past Caroline B. Cooney.

Prevention [edit]

The residents of Shitterton, a small hamlet in Dorset, England, collectively purchased this large stone sign to deter frequent theft.

A view up Penny Lane from the Halls of Residence

Some jurisdictions identify stickers on street signs alert of the legal punishment for their theft. Some cities (e.g. Toronto) utilize specially designed bolts to attach signs and forestall removal. With some of the more popular street names such as Liverpool'due south famous "Penny Lane", authorities gave up the practice of constantly replacing signs and simply resorted to painting the proper name of the street on the walls. Other jurisdictions offering replica street signs for sale to discourage theft. For road markers or mile markers that contain numbers with suggestive meanings, such as 69, 420, or 666, the number may be changed to avoid sign theft.^[6]

Examples [edit]

Austria [edit]

• Afterwards frequent thefts of its welcome sign at the town purlieus, the Austrian hamlet of Fucking installed theft-resistant signs in 2005.^[vii] The boondocks changed its name to Fugging in 2020.^[8]

Canada [edit]

• Ragged Ass Route in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada saw such frequent sign thefts that the city welded the sign to the post and began to sell replica street signs.^[9]
• De Grassi Street has seen multiple sign thefts over the years because of its connection to the Degrassi teen television franchise.^[10] Co-ordinate to the Globe and Mail, twelve signs were stolen in 2000 lonely.^[11]

Republic of Ireland [edit]

• Signs are oft stolen in Ireland for decorating the walls of Irish gaelic pubs effectually the world:^[12] places in Canton Kerry and sites associated with Michael Collins (such every bit Béal na Bláth or Clonakilty) are specially pop.^{[13] [14] [fifteen] [sixteen]}

Germany [edit]

• Due to the heavy metal festival that is named later the place, the pocket-size hamlet of Wacken in Northern Germany had to deal with street sign theft.^[17]

The Netherlands [edit]

Signs prohibiting public consumption of cannabis in Amsterdam were frequent targets of theft.

• All the signs of the Dutch village Maaskantje were stolen since the New Kids comedy sketch bear witness on Comedy Primal (which is situated in the village) became popular (in the netherlands, Kingdom of belgium and Federal republic of germany). The municipality of Maaskantje decided not to replace the stolen signs.^[xviii]
• In Amsterdam, signs prohibiting the consumption of cannabis were a frequent target of theft, prompting the city to offer replicas of the sign for sale.^[19]

Kingdom of spain [edit]

• Leganés, Spain dedicated some streets to rock groups like AC/DC, Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Rosendo. The Ac/DC sign was stolen days afterwards inauguration. Leganés authorities now offer identical signs for sale.^[20]

Sweden [edit]

Swedish moose warning sign

• Sweden's distinctive warning sign for moose is noted for its tendency to be stolen, traditionally by German tourists.^{[21] [22]}
• The sign "Grovare 6", pointing to the small village Grovare in Sweden, half-dozen km from the sign, was frequently stolen. "Grovare" ways "rougher" in Swedish with slightly wrong grammar, and the number vi is spelt "sex". The new sign says "Grovare v", even though it is still six km.^[23]

Britain [edit]

• The signs on Abbey Road in London, England were oftentimes stolen by Beatles fans until the city quango mounted them on buildings.^{[ commendation needed ]}
• Street signs on Butt Hole Road in England were stolen over time, because of the use of butt hole as a slang term for "anus".^[24] The street was eventually renamed Archers Way in 2009.^[25]
• The village of Shitterton in the Great britain saw its welcome sign stolen and then often that in 2007 the local council stopped replacing it. The hamlet'south residents eventually contributed funds to buy a ane-and-a-one-half-tonne rock slab with the town's name engraved on it as a permanent replacement.^[26]

U.s. [edit]

• The sign for South Park Street in Lawrence, Kansas has been stolen on several occasions, prompting the city to install theft-proof bolts on the sign.^{[ citation needed ]}
• In 1988, Denver, Colorado began selling replica Corona Street signs after noting the signs were stolen by fans of the beer.^[27]
• Brickyard Road, Lakeside, Florida. Fans repeatedly stole the route sign because Lynyrd Skynyrd pb vocalist Ronnie Van Zant was living there earlier his death in 1977 and his brother, Johnny Van Zant, released an album and single called Brickyard Road in 1990. The county eventually erected a concrete pillar with the street name painted on information technology, every bit opposed to a traditional route sign.
• State, provincial or federal highways in many countries may confront sign theft issues if their route number has pop civilization connotations. Numbers especially decumbent to theft include 69 because of its use as a slang term for simultaneous oral sex, 420 considering of its connection to marijuana culture, and 666 because of its association with the Biblical Number of the Animal. 4 highways numbered 69 in the The states have been renumbered due to sign theft: Route 69 in New Jersey was renumbered to Route 31 in 1967, Land Road 69 in Ohio was renumbered to Ohio Land Route 235 in 1968, Pike 69 in Texas was renumbered to Thruway 112 in 1992, and State Route 69 in Utah was renumbered to Land Route 38 in 1994. In improver, officials in Oregon had originally planned to assign the Route 69 designation to the Beltline Highway in Eugene in 2002 only later chose to assign Oregon Route 569 to the road instead. However, Interstate 69 and U.s.a.-69 have non been altered.^{[28] [ failed verification ] [29] [30] [31]} Sign theft was also a cistron that led to the renumbering of U.S. Route 666 to U.South. Route 491 in 2003, with a bulk of the US 666 signs stolen post-obit the declaration of the renumbering.^[32] In improver, County Route 666 in Morris County, New Jersey was renumbered to Canton Route 665 due to sign theft.^[6]
• Signs for mile marker 66.6 on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway were frequently stolen due to the Satanic associations with the number 666, prompting officials to consider irresolute the mile mark to 66.61.^[6]
• Signs for mile marking 420 along Interstate lxx in Colorado were often stolen due to the marijuana reference, leading the Colorado Department of Transportation to modify the mile marking to 419.99.^[33] U.s. of Washington, Idaho, and Florida have also since begun implementing the same solution in response to incidents of "mile 420" sign theft. Idaho replaced mile marker 420 along U.S. Route 95 with 419.9,^[34] which is also now used on Interstate 75 in Florida.^[35]
• Richard Bong State Recreation Area, a state park in Wisconsin, too suffers from sign theft due to the association of the word "bong" with marijuana civilisation.^[36]
• U.S. Road 66 in the United States, the subject of a famous 1940s pop song, likewise sees frequent sign theft – signs are so often stolen that in some places it can be difficult to navigate without knowing the road; furthermore, U.s. 66 signage has not been maintained since the route was decommissioned from the U.South. Highway System in 1985.^[37] Instead, some localities rely on route shield pavement markings, which cannot be stolen, to point the path of the celebrated route.
• Often in the United States and Canada, the sign for streets chosen "High St." are stolen, too for its connection to marijuana culture. In an episode of the TV serial That '70s Bear witness, several of the characters attempt to steal a Loftier St. sign to give to Steven Hyde for his birthday. This is less common in the Britain, as the term "High Street" is a general term for a town'south principal shopping district, equivalent to Main Street in North America.^{[ citation needed ]}
• In the southernmost urbanized portion of Anchorage, Alaska, most the Seward Highway, a neighborhood street was called Jackass Lane. The sign at its intersection with Huffman Road, a major thoroughfare in Anchorage, was stolen so often during the 1970s and 1980s that the city government renamed the street to Silver Fox Lane.^{[ commendation needed ]}
• Signs leading to Bolinas, California were often stolen or wrongly placed by its reclusive residents every bit a means to make information technology difficult for tourists to locate the beachside town.^[38]
• The entry sign in Intercourse, Pennsylvania has been stolen or vandalized on more than ane occasion.^{[ commendation needed ]}
• In the early 1990s, during the popularity of the picture show Batman Returns, many signs that said "Bat Cave Burn District" were stolen around the town of Bat Cave, Due north Carolina. So many signs were taken that the local volunteer burn down section stopped putting them back up.^[39]
• The sign for Blueish Jay Way is said to exist the virtually-stolen street sign in Los Angeles, because of its association with the Beatles song written by George Harrison. The metropolis eventually gave upwards on a metal sign and painted the street's name on the adjourn.^{[40] [41]}
• Near street signs in West Hartford, Connecticut are mounted on low signposts; the sign for Stoner Drive, nonetheless, is mounted high on a utility pole behind a guardrail.^{[ citation needed ]}
• Climax^[17] and Hell, Michigan meet frequent street thefts due to their names.^{[ commendation needed ]}
• Reassurance markers for highway Thou-22 in Michigan. The highway is nationally popular for its scenery, taking drivers around the Leelanau Peninsula and eastern shore of Lake Michigan. It likewise runs forth the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, named the "Well-nigh Beautiful Place in America" past ABC News.^[42] A local kiteboarding company also released a line of merchandise with the highway marking on information technology, branding them as "M-22". Signs forth M-22 accept been repeatedly stolen since 2003. The Michigan Department of Transportation has replaced stolen signs without the letter of the alphabet "M" on it.^[43]
• To discourage frequent theft of signs for Harry Baals Drive in Fort Wayne, Indiana, replacement signs now read "H. W. Baals Dr". In 2011, civic leaders also rejected a popular proposal to name a new authorities building after the former mayor.^[44]
• BJ Route in Derrick City, Pennsylvania was stolen in a June 2021 incident, presumably for the similarity to the abridgement for a blowjob.^[45]

See also [edit]

• Manhole comprehend theft
• Street name controversy
• Traffic cone

References [edit]

1. ^ Church building, Zach (July 29, 2007). "The cost of Vandalism: Time, frustration and greenbacks". Hawkeye-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
2. ^ Moeur, Richard C. "Manual of Traffic Signs".
3. ^ "Defendants go 15-year Prison Sentences for stop-sign killings". CNN. June 20, 1997. Retrieved July 29, 2007.
4. ^ "End-sign group challenges sentence". St. Petersburg Times. March 24, 2001.
5. ^ Baillie, Cole, and Miller were sentenced to between 27 and 46 years in prison, merely would go complimentary after but v years afterwards a judge ordered a retrial considering the prosecutor had overemphasized certain evidence in her closing arguments. The prosecution declined to bring the case a second time.[i] Archived March iii, 2016, at the Wayback Car [two]
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Thefts of '666' route sign bedeviling N.J. officials". NBC News. Associated Press. September 29, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
7. ^ "What'southward the F-ing joke?". Theage.com.au. September 3, 2005. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
8. ^ Dallison, Paul (November 26, 2020). "Austrian village of Fucking to be renamed Fugging". Politician Europe . Retrieved November 27, 2020.
9. ^ Zahir, Fazile (Feb 4, 2008). "Kebabble: Turkey's plush signs of the times". Asia Times Online. Fethiye, Turkey. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved November seven, 2015. {{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. ^ ""Degrassi" in Toronto - Boston.com". archive.boston.com . Retrieved December ix, 2022.
11. ^ Dearest, Kim (Apr 7, 2001). "My day with the Degrassi cult". The Globe and Postal service . Retrieved Dec 9, 2022.
12. ^ O'Regan, Donal. "Mystery of disappearing signs in County Limerick village". www.limerickleader.ie.
13. ^ Reporter, Catherine Sanz, Ireland. "Route signs that are well-nigh prized by thieves revealed" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
14. ^ Lucey, Anne. "Theft of Kerry road signs 'an manufacture'". The Irish Times.
15. ^ "Road signs to Michael Collins sites frequently stolen". February iii, 2016.
16. ^ "Road signs associated with Michael Collins are regularly stolen, specially in Cork". IrishCentral.com. February five, 2016.
17. ^ ^{a b} Conradt, Stacy (February xviii, 2016). "10 Most Ordinarily Stolen Street Signs". Mental Floss. Retrieved March nineteen, 2017.
18. ^ "Alle borden Maaskantje gestolen". Hart van Nederland (in Dutch). December 29, 2009. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
19. ^ "Amsterdam deals 'no dope smoking' signs". abc.internet.au. Reuters. February 7, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
20. ^ "Las placas de la 'calle Air conditioning/DC' se pondrán a la venta a partir del próximo lunes". El Mundo (in Spanish). Apr 5, 2000.
21. ^ "Stulna älgskyltar är ett problem". July vi, 2002. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
22. ^ Nyheter, SVT (August 13, 2007). "Älgsafari slår besöksrekord". SVT Nyheter . Retrieved April 13, 2017.
23. ^ Visible in Google Street View at 57°55′54.83″N 13°thirteen′8.38″E  /  57.9318972°North 13.2189944°E  / 57.9318972; xiii.2189944 as of June 2018.
24. ^ "Butthole". Longman Dictionary of Gimmicky English. Pearson Education. Retrieved September 13, 2009.
25. ^ Kessen, David (May 27, 2009). "Residents club together to finally alter embarrassing street name". The Star. Yorkshire Postal service Newspapers. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
26. ^ Adams, Stephen (July 23, 2009). "Shitterton and a sign of the times". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved August four, 2010.
27. ^ "Denver'due south Post-Order Corona Street Signs Selling Briskly". AP NEWS . Retrieved September 26, 2020.
28. ^ "Record $105,400 Prize Money Listed for Grand Prix Sunday". The New York Times. September 27, 1967.
29. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Country Highway No. 69". Highway Designation Files. Texas Section of Transportation. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
30. ^ "Racy Route 69 Gets New Number". Salt Lake Tribune. Apr 15, 1994.
31. ^ Staff. "Minutes of the Regular Monthly Meeting: January 24 and 25, 2007, Salem" (PDF). Oregon Transportation Committee. p. four.
32. ^ "Renaming US 666 Prompts a Run on 'Satanic' Souvenirs". The New York Times. July xx, 2003. Archived from the original on March 27, 2008. Retrieved Nov 17, 2007.
33. ^ "State alters 420 MM sign to thwart thieves". Denver, CO: KUSA. Jan 10, 2014. Archived from the original on Jan eleven, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
34. ^ "Idaho replaces mile mark 420 with 419.9 in effort to thwart stoners". The Guardian, August 18, 2015.
35. ^ "Interstate 75 Due north - Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton Counties - AARoads - Florida". AARoads. September 14, 2020. Retrieved Apr 19, 2021.
36. ^ Williams, Justin (March nine, 2010). "Kenosha's Richard Bong Recreation Area deals with stolen park signs". WITI-Goggle box Fox vi News. Archived from the original on October vi, 2011.
37. ^ "Route 66 data page". Route66usa.com. Retrieved August 24, 2009.
38. ^ Leigh, Patricia (July 9, 2000). "Welcome to Bolinas: Delight continue moving on". The New York Times . Retrieved Baronial 24, 2009.
39. ^ "Tourists Go "Batty" Over Boondocks". Wilmington, NC Star-News. Associated Press. July 7, 1992. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
40. ^ Los Angeles Times, 1984
41. ^ The House On Blue Jay Way That George Harrison Stayed In Los Angeles, feelnumb.com; accessed 2014.04.03.
42. ^ "Sleeping Bear Dunes Voted 'Nigh Beautiful Place in America'". ABC News. August 19, 2011. Retrieved October twenty, 2018.
43. ^ "Michigan dropping 'G' from One thousand-22 signs to deter thieves". MLive.com . Retrieved Oct 20, 2018.
44. ^ "Harry Baals dropped despite massive poll swell". JOE.ie . Retrieved Dec 25, 2020.
45. ^ Youngs, Nick (June 12, 2021). "BJ Road street sign stolen from Derrick Road intersection". WESB . Retrieved June 12, 2021.

External links [edit]

• Daily Nebraskan article
• Bill Breeden article in Owen County news
• Kansas State University Collegian article

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_sign_theft

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