The city of Encinitas is working to make its electronic road signs more secure, after one of them was tampered with to display rude messages.
The sign near Quail Gardens Drive and Leucadia Boulevard was reprogrammed last week. The messages included an obscene graphic, according to mayor Bruce Ehlers.
"It mentioned a body part and things like that on one of them," Ehlers said. "And that's just unacceptable.”
The sign was provided by a third-party contractor and was not city-owned, he said.
It’s not the first time these variable-message signs have been hacked into, Ehlers said. It's happened four times within the past three months, and now the city is clamping down on it.
“Obviously, we're upgrading all of ours signs immediately," Ehlers said. "And we're gonna put a requirement on all the contractors that they lock them down better, and that they take other measures to prevent anybody from breaking into them.”
Someone used a bolt cutter to open the lock on the access box panel and reprogram the messages. Normally, the sign on Leucadia Boulevard warns drivers of construction ahead.
Ehelrs thinks it was probably a prank, but said pranks have the possibility of going wrong.
“It takes away from the functionality of having those signs there,” he said.
That functionality includes telling drivers to stay safe and slow down. The city installed a dozen or so of these variable message signs at different intersections after several high-profile crashes, including one that killed a 12-year-old girl.
“Certainly when you're pranking in traffic situations, that can have dire impact,” Ehlers said.
