The Economics of Everyday Things: Episode 69 – Highway Signs

Host: Zachary Crockett
Release Date: November 4, 2024
Produced by: Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

Introduction: The Unseen Backbone of Roadways

In Episode 69 of The Economics of Everyday Things, host Zachary Crockett delves into the often-overlooked world of highway signs. While millions travel America’s highways daily, few ponder the intricate processes and economic decisions behind the ubiquitous signs that guide them. This episode uncovers the manufacturing, standardization, and economic implications of highway signage, revealing a complex system that ensures road safety and efficiency.

Manufacturing Hub: Bun, North Carolina

The episode opens in the small town of Bun, North Carolina, home to the state's primary highway sign manufacturer. Despite its modest size—covering half a square mile with fewer than 330 residents—the plant plays a pivotal role in the production of millions of traffic signs across the United States.

Lee Blackman, the plant’s general manager, showcases the facility:

Lee Blackman [01:54]: "This sign right here is 12 foot tall. This is going somewhere on Interstate 95 in North Carolina."

At the Bun plant, workers engage in tasks such as shearing aluminum panels, applying green adhesive sheets, and meticulously spacing letters on signs. Blackman emphasizes the importance of quality and precision in sign manufacturing:

Lee Blackman [02:16]: "That's going to give you information about what road you're on right now, the intersections that are coming up, what is the next town coming up, the exit, and so forth."

Historical Context: From Chaos to Order

Zachary Crockett provides a historical backdrop, illustrating how the absence of standardized signs once turned American roads into a "free for all."

Gene Hawkins, a forensic engineering expert from Kittelson and Chair of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, explains:

Gene Hawkins [03:17]: "There was no coordinated effort to manage the movement of vehicles, whether it be through road construction, a connected network of roadways, highways, traffic control devices."

The lack of uniformity led to confusion among drivers, especially as automobile travel distances increased. This chaos spurred the creation of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) in the 1930s, a comprehensive 1,200-page guide governing over 500 signs, markings, and signals nationwide. The MUTCD ensures consistency, enhancing driver safety and comprehension.

Design Elements: Crafting Legibility and Efficiency

Highway signs are meticulously designed for maximum legibility and functionality. The MUTCD categorizes signs into three main types:

1. Regulatory Signs – Indicate legal requirements (e.g., stop signs, speed limits).
2. Warning Signs – Alert drivers to potential hazards (e.g., curves, pedestrian crossings).
3. Guide Signs – Provide directional information (e.g., exits, distances).

Gene Hawkins elaborates on these categories:

Gene Hawkins [06:15]: "There's regulatory signs which tell you what to do. ... warning signs, and those are our yellow diamond signs ... and then there are guide signs which give directions."

Key design features include the highway gothic sans-serif typeface, larger letter spacing for readability at high speeds, and mixed-case lettering to create recognizable word shapes even before the text is fully deciphered.

Gene Hawkins [07:24]: "If you know what city name or street name you're looking for, you could recognize that it was on a sign even before you could read it."

Colors are chosen based on legibility and functionality. Green signs, preferred by 58% of drivers in tests, offer optimal retroreflectivity, enhancing visibility at night via reflective sheeting.

Manufacturing Process: From Blueprint to Highway

The Bun sign plant operates with exceptional precision. The process begins with detailed blueprints from Rene Roach, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s signing and delineation engineer.

Lee Blackman [17:24]: "Specifications that DOT wants for this sign. Whether it's the type of sheeting, the color of sheeting, the overlays, different things like that, it's all going to be on that."

Key steps include:

1. Material Selection: Choosing appropriate aluminum gauges for durability.
2. Shearing and Cutting: Large panels are cut to specified sizes, sometimes requiring segmentation into up to 14 panels for massive signs.
3. Sanding and Coating: Panels are smoothed and coated with green reflective sheeting using specialized machinery.
4. Letter Application: Each letter is individually printed and meticulously placed by hand, adhering to strict spacing and size specifications.

The entire fabrication of a single large highway guide sign can take up to 12 hours, underscoring the labor-intensive nature of the process.

Economic Implications: Cost and Production Efficiency

High-quality highway signs entail significant costs. In North Carolina, the Department of Transportation (NCDOT) pays approximately $42 per square foot for the sign itself. Installation varies widely:

• Ground Mounted Signs: Approximately $1,400 to $8,500 depending on size.
• Overhead Signs: Costs can escalate to $200,000 for cantilever or spanning structures.

A notable economic advantage arises from the plant’s unique location within a prison, operated by Corrections Enterprises and staffed by incarcerated individuals. This arrangement allows for significantly reduced production costs:

Rene Roach [21:14]: "They can just really generate a lot of those signs really quickly for a fairly inexpensive price."

Moreover, NCDOT benefits from the plant’s efficiency, obtaining high-quality signs at lower prices, a model replicated in other states employing prison labor for similar manufacturing tasks.

The Role of Prison Labor: A Cost-Effective Solution

The episode reveals that many of America’s highway signs are produced by incarcerated workers. Corrections Enterprises operates multiple plants across North Carolina, producing not only signs but also items like reading glasses, furniture, and license plates. This prison labor system contributes billions of dollars in goods annually, offering states a budgetary reprieve by leveraging low-cost labor.

Gene Hawkins touches on the rigorous demands of such work:

Gene Hawkins [21:59]: "The work's real tough, so you know, everybody will tell you that they wish they made more. I wish I made more. But the government decides on what we should make, and that's what it is."

The economic model presents a double-edged sword: while it provides cost savings and efficient production for public entities, it raises ethical considerations regarding labor practices and compensation.

Conclusion: The Hidden Economics of Signage

Episode 69 of The Economics of Everyday Things illuminates the complex interplay between manufacturing, standardization, and economics in the realm of highway signs. From historical chaos to modern precision, and from meticulous design to cost-effective production through prison labor, the episode underscores that even the most mundane everyday items embody intricate economic and operational frameworks.

Zachary Crockett wraps up with a teaser for the next episode:

"On next week's episode, we're going to look at that system, one that employs 800,000 people at wages of pennies per hour or even nothing at all."

This exploration invites listeners to appreciate the unseen structures and decisions shaping their daily commutes, highlighting the profound economics behind everyday conveniences.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Lee Blackman [01:54]: "This sign right here is 12 foot tall. This is going somewhere on Interstate 95 in North Carolina."
• Gene Hawkins [03:17]: "There was no coordinated effort to manage the movement of vehicles..."
• Lee Blackman [02:16]: "That's going to give you information about what road you're on right now..."
• Gene Hawkins [07:24]: "If you know what city name or street name you're looking for..."
• Rene Roach [21:14]: "They can just really generate a lot of those signs really quickly for a fairly inexpensive price."
• Gene Hawkins [21:59]: "The work's real tough, so you know, everybody will tell you that they wish they made more..."

*For those interested in the economic mechanisms behind other everyday items, stay tuned for the upcoming episodes of The Economics of Everyday Things.