COMMUNITY
It's no secret that the electronic warning signs left on the side of the road are remarkably easy to hack (no, I will not tell you how to do it, or where to find the info. You're on the internet already, figure it out yourself.) and these sorts of "Caution, Zombies Ahead" posts have been used in such pranks before. But this time there's a decidedly Left4Dead theme to the latest joke played in South Carolina:
"Two electronic road signs on S.C. 160 near the York-Lancaster county lines were apparently tampered with sometime before 4 a.m. Sunday, said Lance Cpl. Billy Elder of the Highway Patrol.
One sign read "Zombies Ahead" and rotated to "Watch for Hunters." On the other side of the road, another sign read "Be alert for Tanks."
Yup, it looks like the gang from L4D2 may be slowly making their way out of the south, and with any hope S.C. 160 will lead them towards freedom from zombies in the north. It was nice that they had the forethought to leave a warning for all parties interested along the way. At least that's my theory as to what's going on here.
So far, no one involved, including the contractors who own the machines have any idea how they were hacked, but it looks like someone probably just left the box unlocked or found a very clever way to quit. EIther way everyone's writing it off as an unmalicious prank and are just grateful that it wasn't anything vulgar or derogatory, because that would've just played into outdated stereotypes about the south. Hope you're keeping your eyes peeled for tanks just in case though, SC!
[source]