wisconsin department of transportation Announces ‘Shoelace Safety Initiative’ After Viral Video Shows Man Tripping Over His Own Laces in a Crosswalk
MADISON, WI — In a press release that has since gone viral for all the wrong reasons, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has officially launched the “Crosswalk Lace-Up Awareness Campaign,” a taxpayer-funded PSA urging pedestrians to “complete their knot-tying process before entering the roadway.” The initiative was greenlit following a widely circulated clip of a man in a Green Bay Packers hoodie performing an impromptu face-plant into a pothole after his untied Nikes betrayed him during a “Walk” signal. Critics are calling it the most Wisconsin thing since cheese curds, with one local asking, “Are we seriously regulating shoelaces while I-94 still looks like the surface of the moon?” The DOT insists the campaign is a “proactive measure” to reduce “unnecessary stop-and-go traffic caused by bystander gawking at embarrassing falls.” Meme historians are already comparing it to the infamous “Blinker Fluid” campaign, noting the irony of a department that can’t fix potholes prioritizing “footwear-based right-of-way compliance.” Unsurprisingly, the hashtag #LaceGate is trending above actual road closures.