Why “safety signs” often fail to elicit the behavior we need

no parking

Thanks to Ross W Skaggs, CSP (ret) , for another pic – follow him @ LinkedIn for more.

no parking

Today’s pic will make you scratch your head and maybe wonder how that could happen. “No Parking” signs may be one of society’s most widely used signs.  They convey a simple directive, yet can you guess the #1 non-moving violation on our roadways?  Yep, parking violations.  Here we see the use of the sign that obviously was most likely needed at one time, and then change comes along, and the building grows, making the sign’s placement comical – yet no one took the time to remove the sign.

One of the main problems with using “safety” signs as a “safety control/safeguard” is putting them up and NOT managing them.  This leads to workers not respecting the message and, thus, why these safety signs often fail to elicit the behavior(s) we need.  Many of us may use the phrase “sticker safety” as many of us have walked into a facility and seen safety stickers and signs all over the place (floors, walls, hanging from ceiling, doors, etc.); yet the behaviors we are observing in the presence of the safety signs are far from what the signs are conveying!

For a real-life example, the next time you’re out and about in public businesses, government buildings, private companies, etc., look around, and you will see we have NOT cleaned up after the Pandemic. In my travels since the Pandemic, especially since our government officially declared it over, I still see signs posted requiring 6′ separation, elevators that have # of passenger limitations, empty hand sanitizer stations that are in just a gross state now, stickers on floors showing how to achieve 6′ separation, masking requirements, etc.  And do you know that NO ONE IS FOLLOWING the instructions of these “safety signs”!  Are we supposed to behave as the signs still instruct us? 

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