Image credit: Mel Rothenburger

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Warning signs are everywhere, and we should heed them

Aug 13, 2022 | 6:43 AM

SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE. Literally. I mean the physical ones, the kind we can read. We rely on them to tell us where to go, where not to go, what to do and…. what not to do.

Suffice it to say, we’d be lost without them. Yet, when it comes to warning signs — the ones that alert us to possible danger — we apparently ignore them as often as we pay attention to them. There are so many signs that they become white noise. So when it comes to warning signs, size matters.

So do color and graphics. In the wake of the tragic drowning near McArthur Island, there’s talk about posting warning signs along the river to warn people not to swim there. Signs would be a good idea.

All along the pathway that skirts the Thompson River, there are currently no signs warning of the dangerous waters. (There is a solitary sign at the boat launch at the slough that warns of danger and states there’s to be no diving, no swimming and no jumping.) Surely, signs will be installed now, hopefully with specific warnings about the swiftness of the current in high water.

Locals are likely to know of the risk anyway but someone unfamiliar with the area might make a decision to stay out of the river if prominent signs are in place. Experts say we each have our own risk tolerance, and if we perceive a risk to be higher than our tolerance level, we’ll heed a warning.

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If lower, we’ll ignore it. We’ll especially do that if we feel the risk is over-stated. Each time I drive into town nowadays, I come across at least one or two places with signs warning me to slow down and be prepared to stop because there’s road work ahead.

More than half the time, I come to the end of the reduce-speed zone, and drive past the “Thank-you, resume speed” sign, without there having been any road work going on at all. Not a truck, a piece of equipment or a flagger in sight.

Talk about over-stating a risk. Yet, there’s that chance that today will be the day when there really is road work going on. When I took a load to the compost site yesterday, I paused while I was unloading to read the signage posted above the drop-off area. I confess, I hadn’t noticed it before but it’s an important sign.

It says no pets, no children, and no smoking, and warns of a dangerous fall hazard. “Do not cross yellow line or rail,” it says, and “Use extreme caution while unloading.” Plus, in red capital letters, “STAY BACK FROM EDGE.” As if that isn’t enough, another sign right under those ones tells us to “maintain good social distancing practices” or the site might have to be closed. Too much information all in one place.

All those warnings, however, point to a big reason for the posting of danger-warning signs — liability. Years ago, a man was badly injured in a fall while unloading stuff at a landfill. If I recall correctly, in those days there were no railings or warning signs and there were legal consequences.

One of my favourites is the City’s anti-panhandling signs at busy intersections. “Panhandling from vehicles is unlawful and unsafe,” they say, referencing the applicable bylaw. (I always make a point of not panhandling from my vehicle, by the way.) At one location in Aberdeen, some wag has painted over the “un” in “unlawful” and the “un” in “unsafe,” possibly as some sort of social commentary.

There’s certainly no shortage of warnings. Slippery when wet. May contain peanuts. This drug might cause rash, dizziness, hair loss and death, not necessarily in that order. Don’t drink the ink (after reading this warning on a printer ink cartridge I decided to take the advice). And, of course, there’s the mythical “Do not push this button.”

One reason for so many warning signs is that there’s usually somebody who’s done exactly what the warning sign says not to do. While a lot of warnings seem silly, many others should absolutely be heeded. Posting a warning sign assumes, or hopes, that we see it, that we understand it and that we obey it.

But we each do our own cost-benefit analysis of the situation and make a decision on whether to do as we’re told, or as we like. So, to a large extent, the jury is out on the effectiveness of warning signs, and on how to make them more effective.

Seems to me, though, we should keep in mind the advice of Bill Shakespeare when it comes to warning signs — discretion is the better part of valor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca