States that want to call highway-related terms differently

[Big John]

There is guardrail, but Pennsylvania and New York want to call it guide rail, and Wisconsin calls it beam guard.

I just saw a facebook feed where Kentucky is referring to a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) as a Double Crossover Diamond (DCD) https://www.drivingnkyprogress.org/what-is-a-dcd

Any others where state terminology differs from the norm?

[hotdogPi]

Massachusetts: It's the RMV, not the DMV.
Texas: "IH" for Interstates
Louisiana: has parishes instead of counties

[MATraveler128]

Wisconsin and Rhode Island call water fountains bubblers.

[SP Cook]

In Ohio, its the BMV.  Ohio also calls Corridor D, or OH 32, "the Appalachian Highway" as if there was only one.  It is signed as such.

In WV, it is very common to refer to the ARC corridors as such, not by the US route number.  As "take Corridor G to Logan and then take WV 10..." .  This is despite no signage (except on the mileposts) that contains the project letters.

[kphoger]

Related:  Road/Street Terminology Exclusive To A Single City/Metropolitan Area.

And, of course:  Guardrail vs Guiderail

[hotdogPi]

I was under the impression that this thread was for terminology differences that were the state's choice, not just regional dialects.

(edit: one of the two posts I was referring to has since been deleted)

[Big John]

Also, the term "Jersey Barrier" is foreign in Wisconsin, WisDOT refers to it as a concrete barrier or a "F rail"

[Big John]

I was under the impression that this thread was for terminology differences that were the state's choice, not just regional dialects.

I meant it as such too plus I meant it to be highway-related terms.

[1995hoo]

These aren't so much "terminology" in the sense of names for something, but they seem to fit with this thread's overall gist:

—For many years, Delaware's BGSs used the phrase "Must Exit" (sometimes "This Lane Must Exit") rather than "Exit Only." A few such signs, including some newer ones in Clearview, still exist. I know of at least one sign in Philadelphia that uses that phrase as well (it's on southbound I-76 next to the Amtrak rail yard near 30th Street Station).

—North Carolina traditionally uses "Reduce Speed Ahead" instead of "Reduced Speed Ahead."

[Rothman]

Wisconsin and Rhode Island call water fountains bubblers.

Well, this thread is now doomed to go to pot, rather than keeping it to road-related terminology.

Why rehash crap like this that has been rehashed over and over again on the Internet since time eternal?

[SkyPesos]

For the yellow exit speed limit signs, Missouri and Indiana like using "EXIT XX MPH", while Illinois and Ohio prefers "RAMP XX MPH". I wonder what it's like for other states.

[Big John]

—North Carolina traditionally uses "Reduce Speed Ahead" instead of "Reduced Speed Ahead."

Do they still do that as the yellow diamond is now the MUTCD standard?

[kphoger]

Let's talk about "expressway" . . .

[wanderer2575]

Wisconsin and Rhode Island call water fountains bubblers.

Well, this thread is now doomed to go to pot, rather than keeping it to road-related terminology.

Why rehash crap like this that has been rehashed over and over again on the Internet since time eternal?

I removed mine.  Gotta be more specific in titles and opening posts, lest our imaginations take flight.  And stuff gets rehashed because people don't look for it, can't find it, and/or weren't there for the previous conversation.  Don't tell me you've never repeated your comments in separate conversations about movies, TV shows, sports teams and games, whatever.

[Big John]

Let's talk about "expressway" . . .

and with Illinois' term of "Tollway", as they will never call a road that charges a toll as a "freeway".

[1995hoo]

—North Carolina traditionally uses "Reduce Speed Ahead" instead of "Reduced Speed Ahead."

Do they still do that as the yellow diamond is now the MUTCD standard?

I haven't driven there often enough in the past couple of years to be able to say, which is why I used the word "traditionally."

[Big John]

Fixed title so it means highway-related terms.

[Mr. Matté]

I was under the impression that this thread was for terminology differences that were the state's choice, not just regional dialects.

NY Thruway Schuyler Service Plaza: Hamburgers
Guilderland: Steamed hams



Real life example: Michigan's "last exit before fare"

[jmacswimmer]

One I've come across in the roadway design world is what to call the plan sheets showing the temporary roadway configuration during road work. For instance, in Maryland it's called "Maintenance of Traffic" (MOT) plans while in Virginia it's called "Temporary Traffic Control" (TTC) plans.

Massachusetts: It's the RMV, not the DMV.

In Ohio, its the BMV.

Meanwhile in Maryland, it's the MVA.

For the yellow exit speed limit signs, Missouri and Indiana like using "EXIT XX MPH", while Illinois and Ohio prefers "RAMP XX MPH". I wonder what it's like for other states.

Maryland seems to do both depending on whether it's an exit ramp leading to a surface road or a ramp connecting to another freeway. For example, I-70 east to I-695 north has "RAMP 45 MPH" while nearby I-695 south to US 40 west has "EXIT 35 MPH".

[MATraveler128]

New Jersey calls the DMV the MVC. And Maine copies Ohio and calls it the BMV.

[1995hoo]

....

Maryland seems to do both depending on whether it's an exit ramp leading to a surface road or a ramp connecting to another freeway. For example, I-70 east to I-695 north has "RAMP 45 MPH" while nearby I-695 south to US 40 west has "EXIT 35 MPH".

Along these lines, you can find BGSs on surface streets in various parts of Florida that use a black-on-yellow "RAMP ONLY" banner to denote a lane that must turn onto an on-ramp. I presume the rationale is that it's not technically an "exit" from a surface street. Here's a Google Street View image of one such sign in Pembroke Pines.

Let's talk about "expressway" . . .

Heh, whereas some of us might well say that western states are weird because they insist on using the peculiar word "freeway" as a generic word to describe either a highway or an expressway.

Let's talk about "expressway" . . .

and with Illinois' term of "Tollway", as they will never call a road that charges a toll as a "freeway".

I saw someone refer to the Dulles Toll Road as "the Tollway" (it was clear from the context what road was meant). That was a definite "tell us you're not from here without saying you're not from here" kind of moment.

[jmacswimmer]

....

Maryland seems to do both depending on whether it's an exit ramp leading to a surface road or a ramp connecting to another freeway. For example, I-70 east to I-695 north has "RAMP 45 MPH" while nearby I-695 south to US 40 west has "EXIT 35 MPH".

Along these lines, you can find BGSs on surface streets in various parts of Florida that use a black-on-yellow "RAMP ONLY" banner to denote a lane that must turn onto an on-ramp. I presume the rationale is that it's not technically an "exit" from a surface street. Here's a Google Street View image of one such sign in Pembroke Pines.

Which reminds me...it's not consistent, but in similar cases as your example Maryland will sometimes drop the "EXIT" and just leave "ONLY" - a good example of this is MD 214 west at the Capital Beltway, where there's even blank space left on the sign where "EXIT" would have gone.

Real life example: Michigan's "last exit before fare"

Ohio & Kansas, meanwhile, use "Last Free Exit".

[webny99]

New Jersey calls the DMV the MVC.

Maryland Virginia Coast? 

[wanderer2575]

Along these lines, you can find BGSs on surface streets in various parts of Florida that use a black-on-yellow "RAMP ONLY" banner to denote a lane that must turn onto an on-ramp. I presume the rationale is that it's not technically an "exit" from a surface street. Here's a Google Street View image of one such sign in Pembroke Pines.

Also becoming more common in Michigan as signs are replaced:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/ML35U4Lm1M4Bn6gX6

[WillWeaverRVA]

—North Carolina traditionally uses "Reduce Speed Ahead" instead of "Reduced Speed Ahead."

Do they still do that as the yellow diamond is now the MUTCD standard?

They are generally replacing older "Reduce Speed Ahead" signs with the diamonds.