Bill would let tow trucks use vehicle‑mounted message signs to improve roadside safety

Senate File 3888, heard Monday by the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee, would authorize tow trucks to use vehicle‑mounted variable message signs (VMS) with preprogrammed safety messages such as "move left," "move right" and "slow down." Supporters said the devices improve worker safety by prompting motorists to change lanes or slow at roadside incidents.

Senator Jasinski introduced the bill and cited a statistic he was told that the odds of a vehicle moving over are substantially higher when a vehicle‑mounted message sign is used. Christine Zimmer, testifying for AAA, said the technology is already in use in several states and emphasized consistency with Minnesota's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MN MUTCD). "This product is visible from 3,000 feet and then very legible at 1,000 feet," she said, arguing the signs give motorists earlier warning of an incident.

Industry witnesses including Bridal Leadley, president of Safety Signs, told the committee they have deployed the devices in work zones and incident responses and believe they materially improve safety for roadside workers and emergency responders.

Lawmakers asked whether the MN MUTCD limits message content or character length; witnesses said the manual governs sign mounting, size, brightness and legibility and that messages are intended to be limited and preprogrammed to avoid puns or colloquialisms. Committee members also asked whether the bill should extend permission to construction and other incident‑response vehicles; industry witnesses advised it would be prudent to include those vehicles and noted the devices can also produce machine‑readable WZDX feeds that navigation platforms such as Waze can consume to alert drivers.

Chair Dibble moved to lay the bill on the table for possible inclusion in a future omnibus; committee members were assigned to work on language about which vehicles to include. No committee vote was recorded.