Warning signs

As we were traveling home there was one strange thing I noticed that I didn’t see on the way to Wildwood. I was preparing to film our drive over of the Delaware Memorial Bridge when I noticed a sign along the side of the road. The sign wasn’t very big, nor brightly colored, and it simply said “Delaware Memorial Bridge” with an image of the towers and span. The GPS said we had sixteen miles until we came upon that crossing. As we continued on, I saw another of the same sign, to the right of the road as before. This was about ten miles or so before the bridge. Then, finally there was a third such sign when we got closer. I can’t recall if it was placed at a spot before or after the towers appeared on the horizon several miles away. What an odd thing. Where those signs meant to be a reminder of the toll, or, perhaps, a warning? I’ve never seen a sign for a bridge that far out. The marker sign for the Key Bridge was perhaps only a couple of miles before it, not far before the bend in the road after which it finally came into view. As far as I know, the Delaware Memorial Bridge has no weight limits or hazardous material prohibitions that would warrant such an early warning for truck drivers. So why the signs? Could they really be posted as a warning? And if they are a warning, then who is being given a heads-up? Might they be targeted at those for whom most any large, tall bridge is a truly monster standing in their path, an intimidating nightmare to be dealt with?

Could the state of New Jersey be acting like the owner of a large, scary looking, aggressive dog? An owner who would place “beware of dog” signs all around, letting passers by know what lurks within the boundaries of the property? Seriously, could it really be that the state has placed these signs as a sort of “beware of bridge” warning? A warning to give gephyrophobia sufferers ample opportunity to alter their route and avoid the metal monster? Or, to switch drivers, hide, cover their eyes and cower in the back seat? It is well known that the green monster puts the fear of God in some people, as otherwise the state would not feel the need to offer a police service to drive the terrified across it. The signs, one might surmise, could indeed be a warning to those who stay on that route that they will soon face those terrible green steel twins should they proceed. I have also heard, but have not verified, that the state of Maryland has placed similar “beware of bridge” signs long before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Apparently some have become so terrified of that set of steel serpents that they have tried to literally drive in reverse to get off of it. Perhaps some have also done this when caught off guard by the green monster. That first full view of the Delaware metal monster would surely give a start to those not expecting it! Seeing that unexpectedly would be not unlike when I first caught sight of the Savannah bridge and said to my mom “Whoa! Look at that bridge!”. I can’t help but wonder if any other big bridges have such warnings. If there are any others that deserve them, surely one would be the Sunshine Skyway, that legendary terror of the Tampa Bay. The green monster also is well deserving of its warning signs. The sight of its arched deck and soaring towers would be to a phobia sufferer what the sight of a huge snapping, snarling, barking German Shepherd would be to someone who is terrified of dogs. The owners of such dogs have a duty to warn people. But, in this case, the green monster does not belong to the state of New Jersey. The eastbound (Delaware side) had no such early warning signs, at least not that I recall seeing. And of course, not all states see fit to warn drivers of potentially terrifying bridges. The Talmadge Bridge in Savannah came with no warning at all….much to my mom’s chagrin.