Michigan Drivers Are Super Confused by This Road Settled Sign

One of the first things you learn when you're training to get your drivers license is what all of those signs on the side of the road mean.

Most of us know what they are based on the obvious pictures or phrases on them, but every once in a while we see one that leaves us scratching our heads.

And recently on a closed facebook group called Road Geekery, someone pointed out that they found this sign in rural Ionia County and weren't entirely sure what it meant:

And if I came across that, I wouldn't either... so I decided to dig into what it could possibly mean for anyone else who wants to know what the road settled for. (And apparently, it's not their ex.)

First I scoured all of the options for signs in Michigan, and I realized the state doesn't recognize this as one of their standard issued signs. Which is weird, considering it's just here hanging out on the side of the road IN Michigan.

So, as I dug further, I realized another version of this sign is pretty common in the northeast, specifically in Massachusetts.

And up there, you'll see them as "Thickly Settled" signs, which just means that when you're driving through an area that seems to not be very populated, you're about to come across an area that is, as it says, "thickly settled".

So these signs in other areas are to basically serve as a placeholder for a 40 MPH sign, which if you notice at the bottom, it also specifies.

But in the case of this sign? It turns out it's also because this stretch of road has LITERALLY settled to be lower than the rest of the road, so they don't want you to bottom out or lose control when the conditions of the road change, especially if you're on something like a motorcycle.

So while this road may be "settling", it's only there to let you know you're about to pass an area with people or a road that's slightly lower than the rest, and to take it easy before you hurt yourself or someone else.