WASHINGTON, DC—New sweeping legislation is set to take effect over the next three months as all traffic signs that currently state "STOP" in capitalized white reflective lettering over a red octagonal background will be converted to signs that instead state, "TAP ON BRAKES A LITTLE."
This new move comes after a brief debate within the U.S. Department of Transportation over whether the word "Stop" actually has any true meaning in traffic scenarios. Indeed, Secretary Elaine L. Chao, in her announcement of the change explained that "The new wording of the signs comes after years of research and personal experience demonstrated what people actually do when approaching these sorts of traffic signs."
It appears that researchers from several governmental agencies and universities throughout the country found that the word "Stop" was too complex a concept for the average American driver, but that the phrase "Tap on the brakes a little" was much more feasible. In trials, whereas only 12% of subjects correctly stopped a moving vehicle when traffic signs so instructed, adherence to the instructions to tap the brakes lightly was closer to 92%. The other 8% of noncompliance could be accounted for by drivers' attention being directed entirely on their phones.
"We feel that this wording of traffic signs more appropriately fits behavior in modern driving," said Secretary Chao. "Just like any policy, this one needed to evolve with the times."
Response to the change has been widely positive, with a decrease in traffic-related citations being issued as people anticipate the change. There is expected to be a slight increase in citations issued for drivers who continue to stop at the signs, as this is now seen as an obstruction to the flow of traffic. A few of the critics of the new signs insist that the archaic "STOP" signs were originally placed in areas where safety would require that a vehicle actually discontinue its forward momentum lest it collide with other oncoming automobiles, pedestrians, or other objects. However, whether this remains true in 2019 is yet to be seen.