Driver gets tired of an inconvenient traffic sign on his way to work, so he changes the rules with a custom sign to make commute easier: 'It is more than a decade later and no one ever noticed or changed it'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Dec 26, 2025 7:00 PM EST

The morning commute is often viewed as a routine of endurance. It's a daily struggle against traffic lights, construction, and the confusing geometry of city planning. Most drivers accept their fate with a sense of quiet resignation, grumbling at red lights and obeying the metal dictates of the Department of Transportation. However, for one commuter, a single "No Right Turn" sign became less of a traffic law and more of a personal challenge.

The issue centered on a specific intersection with a no turn on red rule between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Arriving at the turn at 7:20 a.m. every day, the driver found himself in a perpetual state of minor criminality. He spent months either breaking the law or taking tedious detours, a cycle of frustration that eventually gave way to a remarkably creative (and highly illegal) investment. Instead of petitioning the city or continuing to risk a heavy fine, he decided to simply rewrite the rules of the road himself.

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  • After researching the cost of a traffic violation, the driver realized it was actually cheaper to purchase a professional-grade replacement sign from an authorized supplier. To maintain anonymity, he operated under an alias and used a drop-shipping location far from his actual residence.

    When nighttime rolled around, the commuter performed his own unauthorized public works project. He removed the two bolts holding the 7 a.m. restriction and replaced it with his custom-ordered version: "No Right Turn between 7:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m." By shifting reality by a mere thirty minutes, he effectively legalized his morning commute.

    While the perpetrator initially expected the city to notice the discrepancy or for a vigilant neighbor to raise an alarm, the local authorities proved to be surprisingly oblivious. More than a decade has passed, and the forged sign remains as a permanent fixture of the neighborhood’s traffic flow.

  • "I changed a road sign to make my commute easier 13 years ago"

    InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - On my daily commute there was very inconvenient 'no right turn between 7am- 9:30am' sign. I had to make the right turn abut 7:20am every day.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
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  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - For a long time I would just break the law and make my turn any way or go around if I thought there was too many people watching.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - But (maybe out of boredom) I did a bit of research and found the ticket for the illegal turn was more than buying a sign from the supplier that makes signs for our area and several other locations.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - So I ordered a new sign that was 'no right turn between 7:30am-9:30am'. I figured it was a good investment.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - I went to the trouble of buying it through an alias and having it sent to a location that was not at all near to where I was.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - Real cloak and dagger stuff, but it was part of the fun. Then in the middle of the night I went and removed two bolts and put up the new sign.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - At first I was expecting for it to be removed or someone look into to it, but it is more than a decade later and no one ever noticed or changed it.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • InfiniteRespect4757 https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/comments/1pphuxy/i_changed_a_road_sign_to_make_my_commute_easier/ - BTY, Yes I did think of just taking it down, but I figured that would be noticed by someone, and to be honest the whole scheme of getting a new one was part of the fun.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • jade911 I work in construction and order signs for stuff all the time. So far just what I've been told to get. But I've had many small community people whinge about stuff like people speeding through areas with lots of kids and I tell them to just order their own signs and put them up. The worst thing that'll happen is they'll have to take them down if someone notices. Most people just assume that the signs are legit
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 I believe that. The sign company did not even blink when I did it. I thought they might ask questions, but it was not big deal. Sounded like people order one off signs all the time.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • low_contrast_black My aunt moved into a new house. In the corner, across the street from a city park. She instantly had an issue with people parking on the street, blocking her driveway. So my cousin bought a gallon of red paint and painted the curb one night. Instant fix. Bonus: within a year, the city took up maintaining the red curb!
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 I love those kind of stories. I read on once where kid was working a job on a public doc and accidentally painted a pillar on a public pier the wrong colour. Something like all the other ones were yellow and he painted that one black. He never said anything and people just re-painting it the wrong colour for decades after. Frankly, maybe someone from the neighbourhood put the sign I changed up years before, as was a bit of an oddity.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • Ashtonpaper This was on your conscience. You kept it in your shed and ground the text off. This is the Telltale Heart level stuff. That's hilarious. Good on you. This post shows you would never make it as a professional hitman.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 Yes amateur hour I guess. I went to allot of trouble getting the sign in a way to not connect it to me or the area I live in, but never really had a good plan to make the old sign disappear. Having said that, I really could not see the police getting warrant to search my shed or anything like that.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • stein63 What did you do with the sign you removed?
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 I found a place that had no right turn from 6:30am-8:30am and switched it in there.... I kid. I grabbed a grinder and took the letters/number off the next day. Then I had it my storage shed for a bit as I was worried about tossing it in the garbage, someone finding it, might trigger people trying to figure out where it was missing from. I also did not want to toss in a river or something like that. Eventually I dropped it off on a road trip about 7 hrs away. I left it by
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • krikspykreme Whats the reason for a rule like that anyway?
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 I assume they did not want commuters using it as short cut during rush hour. My issue was I actually work in that area, so it was a major pain to go around and back track. It saved me 15min to just make the right turn.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • Piggypogdog I read a story years ago where someone changed the sign on a motorway, went to lots of trouble, somewhere in California i think it was. To split the traffic so that the flow went smoother during rush hour. And years later, it's still there. Anyone know of it?
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 Yes I have seen that one two. I took special notice. https://youtu.be/26-40ARwfF4? si=MRxakj8UjBAXOM7v
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • DeathByPig Are you in a country that drives of the left side of the road?
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • OP Infinite Respect4757 Nope. It is road that they don't want commuter traffic on during commute times. Problem is, I am actually going into that area, so I have to go around and back track if I don't take that right turn.
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • russtyy_shackleford Hahahaha I love this, very innovative. You should be proud
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • AMaleStripper I keep thinkin how many people benefited from this and dont even know it, kinda funny idk
    via InfiniteRespect4757
  • Houston Pastafarian If you want to avoid the trouble of switching it in the middle of the night get a pair of workboots, high visibility vest, and a hardhat from a home improvement store. Nobody thinks twice to ask why someone dressed up as a maintenance worker would be switching out a road sign.
    via InfiniteRespect4757

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