Signs began to pop up around San Francisco warning drivers that drones are enforcing speed limits. The signs are so well done that a passing CHP officer had to do a u-turn to verify what he saw.

The California Highway Patrol told KPIX 5 the signs are fakes and that they do not have drones. (wink, wink)

“As people are driving by and they see something like this, it’s definitely a distraction,” said Officer Andrew Barclay of the California Highway Patrol.

“The first officer who saw this on Highway 37 was out patrolling his beat did a double take, flipped around, came back, and confirmed it was what he saw.”

The metal signs say, “Speed enforced by drones.” They also show a drone firing a weapon.



Barclay said the signs violate Section 21465 of the California Vehicle Code, which prohibits imitation signs from being posted on highways.

According to Barclay, whoever made the signs knew what they were doing. “Professional materials, it is a black & white reflective sign, just like the signs that we use on the side of the road for speed limits, and everything else,” he said.

It's not clear yet who's behind the prank, but it's not the first time fake drone signs have popped up in the US; in 2011, street artist Essam Attia plastered fake Big Brother-style advertisements throughout Manhattan that depicted NYPD drones launching strikes on fleeing citizens. The NYPD didn't take the situation lightly, and arrested Attia — who now faces 56 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and grand larceny possession of stolen property.