Why are CA's freeway signs so dirty? (San Diego, Orange: living in, versus)

[dwa3333]

I have driven in many places in the USA and I have to say that there is no state like CA when it comes to dirty freeway signs. More than half the freeway signs look like they have brown lettering or the lettering is fading away altogether - it's as if the signs were dipped into mud and air-dried. In other states the lettering is actually WHITE on green and the green background looks shiny and smooth.

So I'm just curious, why are CA's freeway signs so different from the rest of the country? And what's up with the font CA signs use for numbers? I thought the entire US was supposed to have a national standard.

[yukiko11]

The simple answer is the smog. You have to wash the smog off your car every day.
After living in LA for 40 years, I never realized that my ear wax and my nasal discharge was not necessarily supposed to be brown. After 18 year in WA it is clear or white.
Everything you see on those signs is going on in your body. Pretty scary.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by yukiko11

After living in LA for 40 years, I never realized that my ear wax and my nasal discharge was not necessarily supposed to be brown. After 18 year in WA it is clear or white.

EEUUWWwwww.... Too Much Information!

As for the OP, also, the lack of rain probably reduces the number of times the signs are cleaned for free by Mother Nature.

[Charles]

I don't know but here are some guesses:

Lots of traffic
Little rain
Older signs
Maybe not dirty but sun faded
Maybe not any dirtier than anyplace else that has lots of traffic (in other words, the original poster's question might not be valid)

I'll admit, I've never noticed a font difference in the signage across the country versus California.

They all look about the same to me:











http://www.southeastroads.com/alabama050/i-065_nb_exit_261a_b_07.jpg (broken link)

http://www.southeastroads.com/alabama050/i-065_nb_exit_261a_03.jpg (broken link)

http://www.southeastroads.com/alabama050/i-065_nb_exit_260b_01.jpg (broken link)

http://www.southeastroads.com/alabama050/i-065_nb_exit_258_02.jpg (broken link)

[SeattleWA]

Because California is a third world country. And third world countries are dirty. They even have street vendors like in Mexico!

[dwa3333]

I've lived in Chicago and did not notice the highway signs being dirty like they are here. Perhaps it's the way that CA makes their signs? It seems like here some of the signs have patched-on numbers and letters with nails or something in them (the interstate shield looks like it could be ripped off in this pic), maybe there's some kind of glue that leaks or rust that forms after a long time.

http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images005/i-005_nb_exit_162_08t.jpg (broken link)

Also in this one the "5" font looks shorter and wider than on most freeway signs. Still readable, just a curious difference.

Here's an example of a really dirty sign

http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images051/ca-057_nb_exit_014_03.jpg (broken link)

[thepinksquid]

I've noticed that in LA and even parts of Orange County they look much dirtier than in San Diego... but yeah, I've made note of that too. I would think it has something to do with the dirt/smog in the air.

[LadyKLO]

I think it's also graffiti.....you can see a sign that looks washed..it's probably because they had to clean the graffiti off it.

[skywalker400]

A lot of signs (and freeways) are just real old out here compared to elsewhere. I am sure multiple freeways predate their current number designations. Personally I prefer to old styled signs with the patched on lettering to the new reflective painted ones. I feel like the naming of freeways is slowly dying too, I feel like far less people call the 405 "the san diego fwy", or the 101 "the hollywood/ventura fwy" than in the past.

[NewToCA]

I noticed this too, when moving to California from Ohio. I assumed it was fading from constantly bright and sunny days. Colors of everything, even stucco siding, seems less vivid here than back east.