Street sign theft

Street sign theft occurs when street signs are stolen, to be used as decorations, sold as scrap metal or to avoid obeying the law by claiming later the sign was not there. Although the theft often seems arbitrary, signs with unusual or amusing names tend to be stolen more frequently. Sometimes considered to be a prank by the perpetrators, the theft is often costly and inconvenient (and can possibly be dangerous) for the municipality or agency that owns the sign. In the United States, each street sign generally costs between $100 and $500 to replace.

In law

In most jurisdictions, the theft of traffic signage is treated like any other theft with respect to prosecution and sentencing. If, however, the theft leads to an injury, then the thieves may be found criminally liable for the injury as well, provided that an injury of that sort was a foreseeable consequence of such a theft. In one notable United States case, three people were found guilty of manslaughter for stealing a stop sign and thereby causing a deadly collision. This was publicized in the novel ''Driver's Ed'' by Caroline B. Cooney.

Prevention

Some jurisdictions place stickers on street signs warning of the legal punishment for their theft. Some cities (e.g. Toronto) use specially designed bolts to attach signs and prevent removal.
With some of the more popular street names such as Liverpool's famous " Penny Lane", authorities gave up the practice of constantly replacing signs and simply resorted to painting the name of the street on the walls. Other jurisdictions offer replica street signs for sale to discourage theft. For route 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.

Examples

Austria

*After frequent thefts of its welcome sign at the town boundary, the Austrian village of Fucking installed theft-resistant signs in 2005. The town changed its name to Fugging in 2020.

Canada

* Ragged Ass Road 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.
*De Grassi Street has seen multiple sign thefts over the years because of its connection to the ''Degrassi'' teen television franchise. According to the Globe and Mail, twelve signs were stolen in 2000 alone.

Republic of Ireland

*Signs are often stolen in Ireland for decorating the walls of Irish pubs around the world: places in County Kerry and sites associated with Michael Collins (such as Béal na Bláth or Clonakilty) are especially popular.

Germany

*Due to the heavy metal festival that is named after the place, the small hamlet of Wacken in Northern Germany had to deal with street sign theft.

The Netherlands

*All the signs of the Dutch village Maaskantje were stolen since the ''New Kids'' comedy sketch show on Comedy Central (which is situated in the village) became popular (in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany). The municipality of Maaskantje decided not to replace the stolen signs.
*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.

Spain

*Leganés, Spain dedicated some streets to rock groups like AC/DC, Scorpions, Iron Maiden and Rosendo. The AC/DC sign was stolen days after inauguration. Leganés authorities now offer identical signs for sale.

Sweden

*Sweden's distinctive warning sign for moose is noted for its tendency to be stolen, traditionally by German tourists.
*The sign "Grovare 6", pointing to the small village Grovare in Sweden, 6 km from the sign, was often stolen. "Grovare" means "rougher" in Swedish with slightly wrong grammar, and the number 6 is spelt "sex". The new sign says "Grovare 5", even though it is still 6 km.

United Kingdom

*The signs on Abbey Road in London, England were often stolen by Beatles fans until the city council mounted them on buildings.
*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". The street was eventually renamed Archers Way in 2009.
*The village of Shitterton in the United Kingdom saw its welcome sign stolen so often that in 2007 the local council stopped replacing it. The village's residents eventually contributed funds to buy a one-and-a-half-tonne stone slab with the town's name engraved on it as a permanent replacement.

United States

*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.
*In 1988, Denver, Colorado began selling replica Corona Street signs after noting the signs were stolen by fans of the beer.
*Brickyard Road, Lakeside, Florida. Fans repeatedly stole the road sign because Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant was living there before 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 it, as opposed to a traditional road sign.
*State, provincial or federal highways in many countries may face sign theft issues if their route number has popular culture connotations. Numbers especially prone to theft include 69 because of its use as a slang term for simultaneous oral sex, 420 because of its connection to marijuana culture, and 666 because of its association with the Biblical Number of the Beast. Four highways numbered 69 in the United States have been renumbered due to sign theft: Route 69 in New Jersey was renumbered to Route 31 in 1967, State Route 69 in Ohio was renumbered to Ohio State Route 235 in 1968, State Highway 69 in Texas was renumbered to State Highway 112 in 1992, and State Route 69 in Utah was renumbered to State Route 38 in 1994. In addition, officials in Oregon had originally planned to assign the Route 69 designation to the Beltline Highway in Eugene in 2002 but later chose to assign Oregon Route 569 to the route instead. However, Interstate 69 and US-69 have not been altered. Sign theft was also a factor that led to the renumbering of U.S. Route 666 to U.S. Route 491 in 2003, with a majority of the US 666 signs stolen following the announcement of the renumbering. In addition, County Route 666 in Morris County, New Jersey

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases