When working at her bookstore, White Birch Books, in North Conway, N.H., which is in the middle of the White Mountains, my daughter Laura gets all kinds of questions from tourists, but this one takes the cake.
Granted these people first asked where the mountains were and how to get to them as they stood in a store right off of the village’s main street (Rte. 16/302), which affords a fantastic view of Mt. Washington, the Northeast’s highest mountain, looming to the north if one’s gaze just follows the line of the road.
But then they leaned in close and asked in a conspiratle, secret way, “So, are the moose really aggressive up here?” Seems New Hampshire’s award-winning campaign to try and reduce moose-automobile collisions didn’t quite come across the way it was intended. The signs “Brake for moose, it could save your life!” actually brought visions of kamikaze or commando moose lurking along the roadways to this couple, who told of driving along at 40 mph, with lines of traffic behind them, as they scanned the woods in fear of maniacal moose.
Now, they appear to not be the only ones confused or left wondering by the signs as I found when Googling “Brake for Moose.” I especially like RepMan’s take on the sign that dots highways all over New Hampshire:
Brake for Moose
The rest of the sign read: “It may save a life. Hundreds of accidents.” As I spied this and similar signs dotting the northern New Hampshire roadway, I started wondering: what was the author’s intent? Brake-for-moose
Did he/she think a motorist would speed up and purposely try to smash into a 1000-pound moose? When he mentioned lifesaving, was he referring to humans, moose or both?
And, was the “hundreds of accidents” a lament, a boast or an exhortation? Was he/she disappointed there weren’t more? Are Maine and Vermont motorists speeding ahead in the Moose-maiming sweepstakes? Was the road sign the writer’s desperate attempt to inspire “Live free or die” drivers to step on the gas?
And, what sort of signs do moose create for their ilk? “Halt for motorists. Do you really need to cross that highway? Do humans suck, or what?”
I can’t speak for other motorists (and certainly not for the average moose), but this blogger will most certainly hit the brakes pronto if, and when, he sees antlers up ahead. I don’t want to be the one to put the N.H. State total over the millenial mark.
After several decades working in a variety of jobs as a newspaper writer, event publicist, communications specialist, and marketing director, Karen Cummings is now “retired” and working on Travelers United’s social media and newsletters in addition to occasionally contributing a travel-related article to TU’s blog. She lives close to her family in Fryeburg, Maine, and travels as often as she can.
