Angle of exit/ramp arrows

[SkyPesos]

Looking back at the op in my "Exit tabs & gore signage" thread, something I noticed is that the exit arrow for Missouri and Ohio's BGS are more slanted towards the bottom right than the exit arrow for the Minnesota BGS (all three use the same exit tab, and are the first 3 images in that thread, which is why I'm using them as examples). I don't know the exact angles for those arrows, but looking at the images in that thread, I'm guessing it's 45° for MO and OH, and 60° for MN, for exit arrows for a right exit (let me know if the angles are different values). The same seem to apply for gore signs in each state.

Which angle is used in your state, and which angle do you prefer? For me, I like the 45° exit arrow angle better, maybe it's because I'm mroe used to seeing them over 60°. Also, I've seen a 30° exit arrow before, but forgot which state it's in, so it'll be a category below, but blank for now. Incomplete list of states below:

States that use 30° right exit/150° left exit arrow angle

States that use 45° right exit/135° left exit arrow angle
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Wisconsin

States that use 60° right exit/120° left exit arrow angle
- Michigan
- Minnesota

[CoreySamson]

I'm fairly sure Texas uses the simple 45 degree arrow angle.

[tolbs17]

For me, I prefer 45 or 60. Nothing else. Those are the best. North Carolina uses 45 degree arrows, although here's a rare 60 degree angle arrows on a highway that opened last year. But in other words, for 45 or 60, it just depends how sharp the curve is.

https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1165172,-80.1318192,3a,48.4y,211.63h,96.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjrr97LUqq_9oycMG6QdXag!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[ran4sh]

Georgia uses 45° on BGS, as well as the exit gore signs for most exits.

However, exit gore signs for ramps that have a 180° or greater curve, such as loop ramps in cloverleafs, partial cloverleafs, and folded diamonds, have a curved arrow that looks like the U-turn symbol except to the right instead of the left. Example https://goo.gl/maps/PnPhnQV9MfB1Zoed7

[tolbs17]

Georgia uses 45° on BGS, as well as the exit gore signs for most exits.

However, exit gore signs for ramps that have a 180° or greater curve, such as loop ramps in cloverleafs, partial cloverleafs, and folded diamonds, have a curved arrow that looks like the U-turn symbol except to the right instead of the left. Example https://goo.gl/maps/PnPhnQV9MfB1Zoed7

TDOT does the same thing.

[Tom958]

I think that the angle should vary based on the design speed of the ramp, like degrees off of horizontal equals design speed in miles per hour.

[tolbs17]

Although this is rarely used here

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.2514397,-82.2098251,3a,31.1y,282.59h,102.7t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s6GxOAljd4zBU0rRCX2FqRw!2e0!5s20210901T000000!7i16384!8i8192

[1995hoo]

There's another option that's been omitted–Maryland frequently uses horizontal arrows.

https://goo.gl/maps/ofnW3i9ESSzTEg6p9

https://goo.gl/maps/uyZjQfc9Q2GYPk117

I could see doing that if a ramp represents a particularly sharp turn, such as some of the RIROs on Route 50 east of Annapolis (see examples below)–which I suppose is consistent with what Tom958 says further up the thread–but I've always thought it seems peculiar for an ordinary cloverleaf like the first example above.

https://goo.gl/maps/4Mkw55Qyi4q6szxb6

https://goo.gl/maps/E2zUQKMHnnh74SqW8

[JayhawkCO]

Looking back at the op in my "Exit tabs & gore signage" thread, something I noticed is that the exit arrow for Missouri and Ohio's BGS are more slanted towards the bottom right than the exit arrow for the Minnesota BGS (all three use the same exit tab, and are the first 3 images in that thread, which is why I'm using them as examples). I don't know the exact angles for those arrows, but looking at the images in that thread, I'm guessing it's 45° for MO and OH, and 60° for MN, for exit arrows for a right exit (let me know if the angles are different values). The same seem to apply for gore signs in each state.

Which angle is used in your state, and which angle do you prefer? For me, I like the 45° exit arrow angle better, maybe it's because I'm mroe used to seeing them over 60°. Also, I've seen a 30° exit arrow before, but forgot which state it's in, so it'll be a category below, but blank for now. Incomplete list of states below:

States that use 30° right exit/150° left exit arrow angle

States that use 45° right exit/135° left exit arrow angle
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Ohio
- Wisconsin

States that use 60° right exit/120° left exit arrow angle
- Michigan
- Minnesota

Just to nitpick, but wouldn't the left exits be 360° minus the right exit as opposed to 180°?  Otherwise they'd be pointing down and to the right.

[roadman65]

I think it's neat different arrows are used by different road departments.

I especially like SCDOTs arrows on guides. Long but not too slim or too wide.

[CtrlAltDel]

Just to nitpick, but wouldn't the left exits be 360° minus the right exit as opposed to 180°?  Otherwise they'd be pointing down and to the right.

Yes. The choices should be:

30° right exit/330° left exit
45° right exit/315° left exit
60° right exit/300° left exit

Or you could arguably point out that a 330° left arrow is the same thing as a 30° right arrow and that a 330° right arrow is the same thing as a 30° left arrow.

[PurdueBill]

There's another option that's been omitted–Maryland frequently uses horizontal arrows.

https://goo.gl/maps/ofnW3i9ESSzTEg6p9

https://goo.gl/maps/uyZjQfc9Q2GYPk117

I could see doing that if a ramp represents a particularly sharp turn, such as some of the RIROs on Route 50 east of Annapolis (see examples below)–which I suppose is consistent with what Tom958 says further up the thread–but I've always thought it seems peculiar for an ordinary cloverleaf like the first example above.

https://goo.gl/maps/4Mkw55Qyi4q6szxb6

https://goo.gl/maps/E2zUQKMHnnh74SqW8

Maryland seems to almost overuse the hard right arrows to the detriment of locations that should really call out the hard curve.  The loop ramps at MD 279 on I-95, for example, went from angled to hard right and now back to angled; street view from 2019 shows the current and previous signs (after installation and before removal, respectively) together which I happened to see in person in October 2019 as well.  (The older signs lasted a long, long time and then the Clearview with LED lighting only made it a few years before being replaced again??  Nutty!!  And it wasn't about adding the toll verbiage; they were replacing everything northbound and southbound.)

https://goo.gl/maps/T2CMk4A8GM16zoT58

https://goo.gl/maps/eUY9pqi156dsUGJj8

Neither loop ramp is so unusually tight that it probably required the hard right arrow.

[wriddle082]

Georgia uses 45° on BGS, as well as the exit gore signs for most exits.

However, exit gore signs for ramps that have a 180° or greater curve, such as loop ramps in cloverleafs, partial cloverleafs, and folded diamonds, have a curved arrow that looks like the U-turn symbol except to the right instead of the left. Example https://goo.gl/maps/PnPhnQV9MfB1Zoed7

TDOT does the same thing.

More states need to do this.  I think it would help greatly in preventing accidents, especially tractor trailers that misjudge the curve.

[tolbs17]

Georgia uses 45° on BGS, as well as the exit gore signs for most exits.

However, exit gore signs for ramps that have a 180° or greater curve, such as loop ramps in cloverleafs, partial cloverleafs, and folded diamonds, have a curved arrow that looks like the U-turn symbol except to the right instead of the left. Example https://goo.gl/maps/PnPhnQV9MfB1Zoed7

TDOT does the same thing.

More states need to do this.  I think it would help greatly in preventing accidents, especially tractor trailers that misjudge the curve.

Yeah. We have more examples here, and here. However the second one is not at the interchange, it's just a separate warning sign.

[machias]

One of the first things I noticed as a very young road geek (back in the early 70s) was that the angle of the arrow on an Exit Gore sign in New York varied by county. This was back in the days when "EXIT" wasn't centered on the sign but rather centered over the numbers.   Regions 6 and 7 used a 30 deg angle, Regions 3 and 9 used a 45 deg angle.

[tolbs17]

I forgot to say that the 60 degree angle arrows were a lot more common in North Carolina prior to 2005. But since then, 45 degree angles have been the dominant signs on overheads. They were used almost exclusively on older signs such as these

https://goo.gl/maps/mtmnnWPAwYkUiz7HA

https://goo.gl/maps/pYmuzU3EvJxNvxZ29

https://goo.gl/maps/cQ7DR7df7xZKuBfm8

https://goo.gl/maps/dbRLuEc1Yay3A4h5A

https://goo.gl/maps/PWkPguPfx7QhBvwC8

Type B arrows, as well as exit only plaques, most of them (normally two lanes) were just pointing downward. Were way more common in the past too.

By sometime in the 90s or so, they did turn away from the 60 degree angles, examples include like this sign which was installed in 2002 or 2003 (and probably will get replaced when I-587 signs come up).

[tolbs17]

Looking at the right sign,  this is an usual angle for the arrow.

US-601
https://maps.app.goo.gl/EZ6Z2AP8viZqS9teA

[SignBridge]

The MUTCD standard for angling of arrows reads as follows:

Sec. 2D.08.04........Where a roadway is leaving the through lanes, a directional arrow shall point upwards at an angle that approximates the alignment of the exit roadway.

So the use of a 30, 45, 60, or 90 degree arrow should depend on the geometry of the particular exit ramp. Simple and effective when properly designed.

[tolbs17]

^^

So, 60 degree angle is prohibited?

[SkyPesos]

The MUTCD standard for angling of arrows reads as follows:

Sec. 2D.08.04........Where a roadway is leaving the through lanes, a directional arrow shall point upwards at an angle that approximates the alignment of the exit roadway.

So the use of a 30, 45, or 90 degree arrow should depend on the geometry of the particular exit ramp. Simple and effective when properly designed.

Guess a lot of states don't follow this standard then. Most diamond interchange gores I've seen are closer to 60 degrees than 45 degrees, yet a lot of states sign every exit with the same arrow angle.

[Scott5114]

^^

So, 60 degree angle is prohibited?

Do you even read posts before you reply to them?

[jeffandnicole]

^^

So, 60 degree angle is prohibited?

Do you even read posts before you reply to them?

To be fair, the original post didn't include 60 degrees. Only 30, 45 & 90. It was edited afterwards.

[SignBridge]

Scott, he read it right. I mistakenly omitted the 60 degree number from my original post, and I went back and added it after he posted the question. Thanks!

[Rothman]

Oh, snap.  Mods slappin' people and people slappin' mods in here.

[tolbs17]

^^

So, 60 degree angle is prohibited?

Do you even read posts before you reply to them?

Yes... I was wondering if 60-degree angle arrows were allowed because SignBridge didn't say they were.