New Jersey

[roadman65]

Correct all the newer mileage signs that NJDOT erected post 1998, excluding replacements, are to the crossover into the said community.  For example on US 22 E Bound at the North Plainfield- Watchung Border has a sign that refers to Newark being 12 miles away in which Downtown Newark is further than that and the original mile signs indicated mileage to that point in New Jersey's largest city.  If you travel 12 miles east to where US 22 EB enters the Borough of Watchung at the Mountain Avenue intersection, you will come to the Hillside-Newark border just east of North Broad Street in Hillside.

Yes those signs are technically correct as well as giving out mileage to the point US 202 crosses over those two municipal limits.  US 202 spends 6 miles in Mahwah and Suffern is part of Ramapo in NY.  However, my gripe is to use Suffern (which US 202 immediately enters upon crossing the NY State Line, instead of its larger corporation name as that appears on the map over Ramapo.  Plus years ago before the Ratzer Road Circle was eliminated the control cities for US 202 NB leaving the circle were "Pompton Lakes" and "Suffern."  Suffern was always used as it was not only at the state line, but because the NYS Thruway was there.  Even though NJ is careless about US 202 north of NJ 53 allowing the counties to maintain it with very poor signage along the way and nowadays seems like a useless through route, NE 2 along time ago said that it was a good alternative to bypassing the NYC direct metro area years ago before the freeway boom, and it was.  So having "Suffern" used along US 202 made sense.

[Alps]

So Ramapo includes Hillburn, Airmont, Chestnut Ridge, Monsey, Montebello, Sloatsburg, Spring Valley, and Suffern, ALL of which appear on signs independently as well. It's even worse than Woodbridge, NJ.

[roadman65]

Yes true, but Suffern is the place that US 202 passes through when it crosses the border.  It is just like using Ewing over Trenton on I-295 N Bound for ultimate destination.  Yes Ewing is on the map, but for reference it would be better if Trenton was used as that rather than its suburb.

You mention he various communities that make up Ramapo, NY all mentioned in other signs, still they are known for their individual names over the town they are part of.  If Suffern was not there along US 202, it would be the best choice like Orangetown is for US 9W on its mileage sign in Fort Lee as there is no major village at point of entry to the town along that route.

[Pete from Boston]

Yes true, but Suffern is the place that US 202 passes through when it crosses the border.  It is just like using Ewing over Trenton on I-295 N Bound for ultimate destination.  Yes Ewing is on the map, but for reference it would be better if Trenton was used as that rather than its suburb.

You mention he various communities that make up Ramapo, NY all mentioned in other signs, still they are known for their individual names over the town they are part of.  If Suffern was not there along US 202, it would be the best choice like Orangetown is for US 9W on its mileage sign in Fort Lee as there is no major village at point of entry to the town along that route.

Orangetown and Ramapo are useless because no one uses those names in reference to location.

Piermont is the logical choice for 9W if you want something close to the state line.

[PHLBOS]

It is just like using Ewing over Trenton on I-295 N Bound for ultimate destination.  Yes Ewing is on the map, but for reference it would be better if Trenton was used as that rather than its suburb.

If you're referring to the distance signage along I-295 northbound; IIRC, most of the ones that include Ewing in the listings are not too far from the immediate Trenton area and the various I-295 interchanges that serve Trenton.  Ewing's actually on I-295; Trenton is not.

Additionally, while cars can simply use NJ 29 North from I-295 North to get to Trenton; trucks over 13 tons & hazmat vehicles are prohibited from using NJ 29 in that area due to the tunnel.  The signs direct trucks to use the US 1 interchange as a means to reach Trenton (which adds on more miles).

Yardley, PA is now listed on several northbound 295 mileage signs.

[noelbotevera]

It is just like using Ewing over Trenton on I-295 N Bound for ultimate destination.  Yes Ewing is on the map, but for reference it would be better if Trenton was used as that rather than its suburb.

If you're referring to the distance signage along I-295 northbound; IIRC, most of the ones that include Ewing in the listings are not too far from the immediate Trenton area and the various I-295 interchanges that serve Trenton.  Ewing's actually on I-295; Trenton is not.

Additionally, while cars can simply use NJ 29 North from I-295 North to get to Trenton; trucks over 13 tons & hazmat vehicles are prohibited from using NJ 29 in that area due to the tunnel.  The signs direct trucks to use the US 1 interchange as a means to reach Trenton (which adds on more miles).

Yardley, PA is now listed on several northbound 295 mileage signs.

Just use Philadelphia - what is Yardley anyways?

[Zeffy]

Yardley is a small town off of PA 32. It's worth having on some signs, but I'm a bit leery of using it as a control city on most applications.

[PHLBOS]

Yardley is a small town off of PA 32. It's worth having on some signs, but I'm a bit leery of using it as a control city on most applications.

I don't believe Yardley is used as a control city anywhere along I-295; it's only on the mileage signs.

Just use Philadelphia

IMHO, Philadelphia should only be used as a control city for I-295 from the US 1 interchange (Exit 67) westward.  It makes no sense whatsoever listing it as a northbound I-295 destination south of the US 1 interchange.

[NJRoadfan]

At least they didn't use "Lower Makesfield, PA" *ducks*

[odditude]

Yardley is also the first town 95 passes through after the Scudder Falls Bridge; its appearance on the mileage signs is essentially the mileage to the state line.

[jeffandnicole]

It is just like using Ewing over Trenton on I-295 N Bound for ultimate destination.  Yes Ewing is on the map, but for reference it would be better if Trenton was used as that rather than its suburb.

If you're referring to the distance signage along I-295 northbound; IIRC, most of the ones that include Ewing in the listings are not too far from the immediate Trenton area and the various I-295 interchanges that serve Trenton.  Ewing's actually on I-295; Trenton is not.

Additionally, while cars can simply use NJ 29 North from I-295 North to get to Trenton; trucks over 13 tons & hazmat vehicles are prohibited from using NJ 29 in that area due to the tunnel.  The signs direct trucks to use the US 1 interchange as a means to reach Trenton (which adds on more miles).

Yardley, PA is now listed on several northbound 295 mileage signs.

Ewing is used along all of I-295. The first mileage sign is between Interchange 2 and the welcome center, and lists Ewing (72 Miles).

Trucks over 13 tons are prohibited from the Trenton Tunnel. But they are permitted to use Rt. 129. If trucks want to get to PA from NJ, they are supposed to use 295 North to 1 South. But they are welcome to use 29 North-129 North-1 North to access points in Trenton.

[Zeffy]

Speaking of control cities, one that irks me is the non-use of Hillsborough, my home town, on any guide signs. All of the US 206 ones point to Belle Meade - even in Montgomery which is where Belle Meade is a part of - but not Hillsborough, which is a town of 40K people. Why is that?

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4498699,-74.6616923,3a,24.9y,56.91h,85.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHLbLN429h7dK3WlFojP8Tg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

(Hey look, another math sign where the top two distances add up to the bottom one...)

Even in Hopewell, you have this sign that points to Belle Meade for some odd reason!

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3634032,-74.7988848,3a,75y,207.75h,82.96t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTWn-7LEnR7H2SZv98RSuyg!2e0!5s20110701T000000!7i13312!8i6656

Sorry about the last image, it turns out GMSV doesn't have the sign in question, but it sits on those empty poles.

[cpzilliacus]

NorthJersey.com: Big N.J. police crackdown on big rigs

Responding to several high-profile truck crashes and fatalities, state, county and Port Authority police are issuing significantly more traffic tickets to commercial drivers this year – crackdowns that New Jersey's leading trucking industry group considers misplaced.

In Bergen County, police in the newly reorganized traffic bureau of the Sheriff's Department issued more than 8,000 tickets to commercial drivers in the first six months – 38 percent more than the year before.

The Port Authority, whose police patrol most airports and the region's major river crossings, reported more than 1,700 truck violations this year through Aug. 22 – nearly an eight-fold increase over the same period last year, mainly because its commercial vehicle inspection unit was |expanded.

And New Jersey State Police reported a 23 percent hike in truck summonses on the New Jersey Turnpike – from 2,133 for the first seven months of 2014 to 2,633 this year. Parking tickets rose 50 percent to 1,494 for trucks pulled onto turnpike shoulders, often to allow drivers to nap.

State Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox applauded the heightened vigilance, which came in response to a string of collisions that ­began 14 months ago when comedian Tracy Morgan was seriously hurt and his friend James McNair was killed in a van hit by a truck on the turnpike. Deadly crashes are still ­happening, however, with Michael Lavecchia Jr. and Giovanni Laboy killed in a crash with a truck this month on Route 80 in Wayne.

"With traffic volume increasing as the economy improves, it seems like truck crashes are happening almost once each day,"  said the commissioner, who also serves as chairman of the Turnpike Authority. "We're seeing these 80,000-pound missiles tailgating or going 80 miles an hour, sometimes with sleepy, inadequately trained drivers behind the wheel of vehicles that aren't always state of the art."

[jwolfer]

Speaking of control cities, one that irks me is the non-use of Hillsborough, my home town, on any guide signs. All of the US 206 ones point to Belle Meade - even in Montgomery which is where Belle Meade is a part of - but not Hillsborough, which is a town of 40K people. Why is that?

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.4498699,-74.6616923,3a,24.9y,56.91h,85.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHLbLN429h7dK3WlFojP8Tg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

(Hey look, another math sign where the top two distances add up to the bottom one...)

Even in Hopewell, you have this sign that points to Belle Meade for some odd reason!

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.3634032,-74.7988848,3a,75y,207.75h,82.96t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTWn-7LEnR7H2SZv98RSuyg!2e0!5s20110701T000000!7i13312!8i6656

Sorry about the last image, it turns out GMSV doesn't have the sign in question, but it sits on those empty poles.

Some of the larger suburban towns were nothing but fields or forests and collections of smaller towns when distance signs were put up. As signs got replaced they were just copied.

Signs on Route 70 had Laurelton instead of Brick. ( I haven't been to NJ since 1999, so it may have changed)

And directions should be given to Woodbridge not The Amboys

[roadman65]

I believe the first mileage sign for US 9 in Lower Township uses "Woodbridge" so it is becoming more popular than "The Amboys" once were on guide signs including one sign in Brick that some user here said he saw at the new Exit 89 tangle.

Also talk about weird use of control cities how about the former sign on NJ 23 Northbound in Verona just north of those two large apartment houses that used to list "Montague" as final control destination because technically Montague is the last town along NJ 23 before it terminates.  However, many would benefit more by using Port Jervis, NY as that sticks out more.  If anyone ever heard of Montague they would think its along US 206, as it also is and the maps show it as that too being along Sussex County's other N-S State Highway.

Then "Bedminster" being used on I-78 across the Delaware River Bridge into NJ when there is not even an exit signed for that Somerset Township community.  Yes its where I-287 meets I-78, but does the average person know that?  In fact to get to that township's street system, you must exit onto I-287 N Bound to US 202 & 206, so using that is pointless even if everyone knew where Bedminster is.  Plus, NJDOT wasted the cost of a sign as PennDOT has a mileage sign east of the PA 611 exit stating 4 miles to Phillipsburg (its actually more than that but PennDOT signs miles to the exits and not corporate lines) and 68 ( I think, but I am not going to go on GSV just for a proper number) for NYC.  If NJDOT was smart they would place the sign after US 22 merges in, however at least they use "Newark" instead of "New York" along with "Clinton" and the one I just stated which are also not listed in PA previously.

[bzakharin]

Yardley is also the first town 95 passes through after the Scudder Falls Bridge; its appearance on the mileage signs is essentially the mileage to the state line.

Then "Bedminster" being used on I-78 across the Delaware River Bridge into NJ when there is not even an exit signed for that Somerset Township community.  Yes its where I-287 meets I-78, but does the average person know that?

Why not put state lines and interstates on mileage signs instead of these proxies? Maryland shows mileage to I-695 and the Delaware state line on I-95, and to I-83, I-70, and I-95 on I-695. NJ only ever does that on VMSs (yes, there are distance signs to the Garden State Parkway on the Atlantic City Expressway, but they're not on the regular mileage signs that only show Atlantic City, Atlantic City Airport, and Philadelphia).

[jeffandnicole]

NorthJersey.com: Big N.J. police crackdown on big rigs

Responding to several high-profile truck crashes and fatalities, state, county and Port Authority police are issuing significantly more traffic tickets to commercial drivers this year — crackdowns that New Jersey’s leading trucking industry group considers misplaced.

In Bergen County, police in the newly reorganized traffic bureau of the Sheriff’s Department issued more than 8,000 tickets to commercial drivers in the first six months — 38 percent more than the year before.

The Port Authority, whose police patrol most airports and the region’s major river crossings, reported more than 1,700 truck violations this year through Aug. 22 — nearly an eight-fold increase over the same period last year, mainly because its commercial vehicle inspection unit was |expanded.

And New Jersey State Police reported a 23 percent hike in truck summonses on the New Jersey Turnpike — from 2,133 for the first seven months of 2014 to 2,633 this year. Parking tickets rose 50 percent to 1,494 for trucks pulled onto turnpike shoulders, often to allow drivers to nap.

State Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox applauded the heightened vigilance, which came in response to a string of collisions that ­began 14 months ago when comedian Tracy Morgan was seriously hurt and his friend James McNair was killed in a van hit by a truck on the turnpike. Deadly crashes are still ­happening, however, with Michael Lavecchia Jr. and Giovanni Laboy killed in a crash with a truck this month on Route 80 in Wayne.

“With traffic volume increasing as the economy improves, it seems like truck crashes are happening almost once each day,” said the commissioner, who also serves as chairman of the Turnpike Authority. “We’re seeing these 80,000-pound missiles tailgating or going 80 miles an hour, sometimes with sleepy, inadequately trained drivers behind the wheel of vehicles that aren’t always state of the art.”

I think the trucking industry would get a little (just a little) more sympathy if they would acknowledge that there are some bad drivers out there.  Some of these truck accidents having nothing to do with long-haul truckers that need rest areas.  Some of these truckers are going well over the speed limit and in the left lane of 3 lane plus highways.  They want to get to where they need to go today, not tomorrow. 

No doubt car drivers account for many, if not a majority, of truck accidents.  And otherwise safe truck drivers that do all the necessary checks sometimes will have an unfortunate accident.  But many of these truck accidents are completely avoidable just by utilizing basic driving techniques, such as slowing down when traffic is stopped ahead!

[hubcity]

I think the trucking industry would get a little (just a little) more sympathy if they would acknowledge that there are some bad drivers out there.  Some of these truck accidents having nothing to do with long-haul truckers that need rest areas.  Some of these truckers are going well over the speed limit and in the left lane of 3 lane plus highways.  They want to get to where they need to go today, not tomorrow.

Industry spokespeople are not paid to say things like "okay, maybe our industry is a little at fault." That's a general rule.

[jeffandnicole]

I think the trucking industry would get a little (just a little) more sympathy if they would acknowledge that there are some bad drivers out there.  Some of these truck accidents having nothing to do with long-haul truckers that need rest areas.  Some of these truckers are going well over the speed limit and in the left lane of 3 lane plus highways.  They want to get to where they need to go today, not tomorrow.

Industry spokespeople are not paid to say things like "okay, maybe our industry is a little at fault." That's a general rule.

They can...to an extent.

"We remind our drivers that they are the face of the company on the road. Their trucks are an advertisement for the companies they work for.  They are hauling the goods that you will be buying in national chains and mom and pop stores.  They have families, just like you and I.  We always instruct our drivers to obey all traffic laws, and a late delivery is better than no delivery.  When travelling around trucks, remember that they need extra distances to stop, and be aware of their blind spots when they may not see you."

[SteveG1988]

I think the trucking industry would get a little (just a little) more sympathy if they would acknowledge that there are some bad drivers out there.  Some of these truck accidents having nothing to do with long-haul truckers that need rest areas.  Some of these truckers are going well over the speed limit and in the left lane of 3 lane plus highways.  They want to get to where they need to go today, not tomorrow.

Industry spokespeople are not paid to say things like "okay, maybe our industry is a little at fault." That's a general rule.

They can...to an extent.

"We remind our drivers that they are the face of the company on the road. Their trucks are an advertisement for the companies they work for.  They are hauling the goods that you will be buying in national chains and mom and pop stores.  They have families, just like you and I.  We always instruct our drivers to obey all traffic laws, and a late delivery is better than no delivery.  When travelling around trucks, remember that they need extra distances to stop, and be aware of their blind spots when they may not see you."

Regular vehicle drivers


STOP PASSING US ON THE RIGHT AND THEN GOING AROUND THE NOSE! WE LOSE YOU FOR A FEW SECONDS IN THE MIRROR WHEN YOU DO THAT!

also....

DO NOT CUT AROUND US ON THE SOLID WHITE GORE POINT LINE TO MERGE ONTO THE INTERSTATE 285 RIGHT LANE IN ATLANTA GA. IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME I GO THERE!

Also, do not speed up if you see us passing you, if it is 65mph and i am passing you, you're going slower than the posted limit, do not use my passing you as a clue that you're going slow.

[roadman65]

 The problem is that many are not aware of the people around you.  I hate it when I move over to let a guy from the merge area into the right lane and then he guns it while you are passing. I do not think he is aware that what you are doing as we all think driving freeways and side roads as a free for all.  When is the last time cops have ticketed speeders and other safety concerns?  That is why we drive like we do.  There are no rules enforced especially traffic signal jumping hence the red light cameras, because our cops do not chase vehicles that are rogue anymore when it comes to when to stop for a red light.  Just like speed limits are generally 10 mph more, the red light means 5 seconds after it becomes red, and 5 seconds more for proceeding after green lights begin.  If cops would do their jobs there would be more order on the roads for us all instead of the free for all we encounter in this 21st Century.

Another thing to note. many purposely drive in the left lane as default.  You have no choice but to pass on the right.  I see many make it an emergency to get across three or four lanes stopping traffic in the right lanes to only get over real fast to just drive that left lane for several miles.  That is my biggest pet peeve as if you had to get in that left lane right away where you have all the time and distance to move over gradually, that is an act of rudeness and shows that person has no clue to reality.

[SteveG1988]

Here's something else.

People will call the agressive driving hotline on a big rig before they would do it to another automobile.

The other week i called it in NJ to report a bunch of sport bikes doing 120+ down the truck lanes on the turnpike. I saw them all stopped at the exit 14 off ramp. Am i an asshole?

[jeffandnicole]

Here's something else.

People will call the agressive driving hotline on a big rig before they would do it to another automobile.

The other week i called it in NJ to report a bunch of sport bikes doing 120+ down the truck lanes on the turnpike. I saw them all stopped at the exit 14 off ramp. Am i an asshole?

If it makes you feel any better, there's quite a network of cameras on the Turnpike actively monitored by the State Police in Woodbridge, so they were probably seen before you even made the call!

[SteveG1988]

Here's something else.

People will call the agressive driving hotline on a big rig before they would do it to another automobile.

The other week i called it in NJ to report a bunch of sport bikes doing 120+ down the truck lanes on the turnpike. I saw them all stopped at the exit 14 off ramp. Am i an asshole?

If it makes you feel any better, there's quite a network of cameras on the Turnpike actively monitored by the State Police in Woodbridge, so they were probably seen before you even made the call!

On i-20 in GA i called the state police since in a construction zone i saw someone texting with one hand,wrist on the wheel kind of position, with two open huge cans of beer. I was like "so many things wrong with the way he is driving...he can get someone killed"

[noelbotevera]

NJ drivers are a mess. During my trip to AC two months ago, returning home by getting onto I-78 west 13 miles east of the PA line, everyone was going all New Yorker on us. My dad (driver) ragequit and hit the gas, then went New Yorker style on everyone else. Then relaxed when we got into PA. I think in five years, when I get my license, I should probably start driving as a New Jersey guy.