ABSTRACT Dynamic message signs (DMS) are widely adopted to display traffic and safety information. This study investigated the effectiveness of behavioral safety messages, including 10 unconventional anti-texting messages used on DMS. Feedback on the usability and effectiveness of various messages was collected from 120 drivers in an online survey. The influence of ten unconventional anti-texting DMS messages on driver performance was observed using driving simulator experiments with sixty participants. 89% of the respondents reported reading the signs, while 85% thought about the relevance of displayed messages. During the simulator experiment, drivers responded to a significantly lesser number of text messages after observing the anti-texting DMS messages, compared to the segments without any DMS. Both self-perceived opinions and driver performance metrics indicated a positive influence of displaying safety messages on DMS. Group comparisons across age and gender showed that some messages were more effective than others among specific driver groups.