'Urgent Make An Accident': This Karnataka Highway Signboard Is Viral For Its Translation Blunder

An unusual sight on a highway in Karnataka has sparked laughter across social media. The reason? An amusing translation error. Shared on social media, the image of an emergency signboard originally in Kannada attempts to warn drivers about overspeeding but ends up with a hilarious English translation: “Urgent make an accident.”

The original Kannada phrase “Avasarave Apaghatakke Karana”, which translates to “Overspeeding is the reason for accidents” in English was lost in translation turning the sign into an unconventional comedy piece.

The viral picture from Kodagu, Karnataka, was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a handle named Kodagu Connect. The caption accompanying the video read, “Lost in translation. Location: Near Sampaje. Along Madikeri to Mangaluru National Highway 275.” The handle also tagged the official page of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). However, the authenticity of the image couldn’t be verified.

See the viral post here:

Since being shared online, the post has garnered significant attention, stirring a wave of reactions from users. Some questioned the government’s effort in translating signboards into English while others found the image to be quite amusing.

One user remarked, “This is hilarious. Wont the authorities be responsible to at least inspect what is written in these sign boards? Dont you have any representatives of NHAI regionally. More over it displays that it is the Govt of Karnataka cautioning drivers.”

Another quipped, “Trouble With Literal Translation.”

A commenter joked, “Thank god! be happy that they didn’t translate kannada using google translator lol,” while another mused, “Made my day today. Imagine how confused passers by would be reading this board…”

Criticism surfaced with a person pointing out, “Proof that nobody follows the rules.”

A person pointed out, “Even I saw this few months back… This shows RTO department are actually not concerned about safety of people… They just want to finish their job given to them and show some work done to govt and people…”

The wave of hilarious reactions continued with comments like “Uno reverse card on Google Translate” and “This Kannada translation needs to be added in a new skill program ASAP.”

An individually sarcastically proposed, “Opportunity to create a job – Translators required to verify & approve all government boards/ signages. a few dozen jobs can be created by the government.”

Meanwhile, a user pondered, “Do they check translation before printing?” and another criticised, “No quality control!!!, all are timepass…”

The post has accumulated over 55,000 views so far.