"State Law" Signs

[DSS5]

I often drive between North Carolina and Tennessee, and upon entering North Carolina on any main road you will see this sign:



There is also always a "State Law: Burn Headlights When Using Wipers" sign nearby.

Tennessee has nothing like this, and I also sometimes drive on to Virginia and there is nothing similar there. Do any other states use signs like these?

[HazMatt]

I often drive between North Carolina and Tennessee, and upon entering North Carolina on any main road you will see this sign:



There is also always a "State Law: Burn Headlights When Using Wipers" sign nearby.

Tennessee has nothing like this, and I also sometimes drive on to Virginia and there is nothing similar there. Do any other states use signs like these?

Virginia has those annoying 'Radar detectors are illegal' and 'Speed limit enforced by giant robots' signs.  North Carolina definitely takes it up a notch though with their headlight signs.  It seems like almost every numbered road has those.

[Zeffy]

In high density living areas, you will find these in towns of New Jersey: (I've seen a couple in Hopewell, NJ)

or

[Billy F 1988]

In high density living areas, you will find these in towns of New Jersey: (I've seen a couple in Hopewell, NJ)

or

Montana definitely could use those signs and put the law into place. You would not believe the amount of times my roommate got hit by cars.

[corco]

Montana definitely could use those signs and put the law into place. You would not believe the amount of times my roommate got hit by cars.

Apparently at least one time less than the number of you have to get hit by a car before you learn not to walk out in the road when there's cars coming

[empirestate]

Yes, New York has this kind of sign for a variety of laws, including:
-No hand-held phones
-No driving on shoulder (i.e., to turn right)
-Penalties for violations in work zones
-Headlights required with wipers

...and others. In our case, the "State Law" part of the sign is white-on-black and the rest of the sign the opposite. There is also a variation for "NYC Law", used to mark the blanket no turn on red restriction, for one.

[corco]

Colorado has started putting it on their KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS signs in the last four years or so, which is actually awesome

[Big John]

In high density living areas, you will find these in towns of New Jersey: (I've seen a couple in Hopewell, NJ)

or

those are mutcd signs R1-6 and R1-6a except that the mutcd calls for a yellow background.

[Alps]

those are mutcd signs R1-6 and R1-6a except that the mutcd calls for a yellow background.

MUTCD allows fluorescent yellow-green to be used optionally for any pedestrian sign, so these are in the clear.

[1995hoo]

Maryland has a black-on-yellow banner "State Law" above "NO TEXTING" and "NO HAND-HELD CELL PHONE."

Virginia usually has a black-on-white sign, without a "state law" banner, that says "HEADLIGHTS ON WHEN USING WIPERS."

DC has a hand-held phone ban but doesn't post a sign about it.

No Street Views as I'm typing this on an iPhone. I'll add links next time I'm at my PC unless someone beats me to it.

[hbelkins]

I always got a kick out of the "burn headlights" verbiage. Why not "use headlights"? That NC sign brings to mind someone setting fire to their headlights. 

[codyg1985]

Alabama has the "STATE LAW MOVE OVER OR SLOW DOWN FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES" sign, but it is all black on white; no yellow banner at the top.

[vdeane]

Yes, New York has this kind of sign for a variety of laws, including:
-No hand-held phones
-No driving on shoulder (i.e., to turn right)
-Penalties for violations in work zones
-Headlights required with wipers

...and others. In our case, the "State Law" part of the sign is white-on-black and the rest of the sign the opposite. There is also a variation for "NYC Law", used to mark the blanket no turn on red restriction, for one.

"Don't block side road" and "stop for stopped school bus" are also very common.  I wouldn't be surprised if "move over for emergency vehicles" becomes common soon.  The Thruway also has its own with "flashers required under 40 mph" and "keep right except to pass".

[Brian556]

For work zones, Texas has "OBEY WARNING SIGNS-STATE LAW; which, of course, amkes no sense, because you can only obey a regulatory sign. These signs are completely useless, and, along with the "TRAFFIC FINES DOUBLE WHEN WORKERS ARE PRESENT" signs, just add to the sign clutter in work zones.

[1995hoo]

Maryland has a black-on-yellow banner "State Law" above "NO TEXTING" and "NO HAND-HELD CELL PHONE."

Virginia usually has a black-on-white sign, without a "state law" banner, that says "HEADLIGHTS ON WHEN USING WIPERS."

DC has a hand-held phone ban but doesn't post a sign about it.

No Street Views as I'm typing this on an iPhone. I'll add links next time I'm at my PC unless someone beats me to it.

Street View of Maryland sign: http://goo.gl/maps/l5VUO

Street View of Virginia's sign about headlights when using wipers: http://goo.gl/maps/XzF1W  (I've always found this sign to be a bit pompous because it doesn't say "state law.")


The comment by "codyg1985" reminded me that Virginia's started posting signs for the "Move Over" law as well. Here's one on the Beltway that's some five miles west of the state line. I suppose they put it where they did because the location is beyond the western end of a quad-carriageway, allowing them to put one sign on the shoulder for all lanes. I find the black-on-yellow banner more effective at grabbing my attention than the plain "headlights/wipers" sign in the other Street View image linked above.

http://goo.gl/maps/vjSNQ  <---Newer signs of this variety take a different format. I believe this sign has been replaced, but I won't be trying for a picture today (weather's too nasty). I believe the re-wording had something to do with an amended statute clarifying that the "Move Over" law doesn't apply only to moving over for cops/ambulances/fire trucks but may also require moving over for tow trucks.

[codyg1985]

http://goo.gl/maps/vjSNQ  <---Newer signs of this variety take a different format. I believe this sign has been replaced, but I won't be trying for a picture today (weather's too nasty). I believe the re-wording had something to do with an amended statute clarifying that the "Move Over" law doesn't apply only to moving over for cops/ambulances/fire trucks but may also require moving over for tow trucks.

Mississippi pretty much has that exact same sign that is posted along interstates and divided highways.

[StogieGuy7]

Colorado has started putting it on their KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS signs in the last four years or so, which is actually awesome

Wisconsin needs to be flooded with these signs!!!!  Clearly, nobody there never learned that the left lane is for PASSING.   

[formulanone]

In high density living areas, you will find these in towns of New Jersey: (I've seen a couple in Hopewell, NJ)...

They're quite common along Florida's A1A (District 4), seem to have been installed around 2009-2010 in a lot of high-traffic places without intersections; also a number of downtown shopping districts and college towns.

[agentsteel53]

I've seen several variants of STOP sign with either STATE LAW, or the name of the individual state.  ALABAMA LAW, for example.  also Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia.

I believe they were all used at railroad crossings.

they're mostly yellow with black; there's one left in Gadsden, AL as recently as 2011.

[sp_redelectric]

Oregon Trucks-Trailers/Campers-Buses Unlawful to use Left Lane Except When Passing

[empirestate]

In New Jersey you have "N J LAW" (in red), followed by whatever the message is in black on white.

[The High Plains Traveler]

Colorado has started putting it on their KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS signs in the last four years or so, which is actually awesome

Wisconsin needs to be flooded with these signs!!!!  Clearly, nobody there never learned that the left lane is for PASSING.   
l

Is it the state law in Wisconsin? It took a change in the law in Colorado to make it an explicit violation (on multi-lane highways with speed limit 65 or over only).

[kphoger]

Yes, I was living in Illinois when the law took effect.  I seem to remember Wisconsin being one of the first in the nation to adopt such a law.

[DaBigE]

Colorado has started putting it on their KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS signs in the last four years or so, which is actually awesome

Wisconsin needs to be flooded with these signs!!!!  Clearly, nobody there never learned that the left lane is for PASSING.   
l

Is it the state law in Wisconsin? It took a change in the law in Colorado to make it an explicit violation (on multi-lane highways with speed limit 65 or over only).

It is. Except our signs say SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT (R4-3) and are posted approximately every 7.5 miles (per WisDOT TGM 2-2-50). They're also posted at the beginning to passing lanes on two-lane highways (TGM 2-15-10).

[Scott5114]

In addition to the standard "move over" sign that many states have, Oklahoma has a "STATE LAW: MERGE NOW [arrow]" sign for use at temporary lane drops, meant to promote early merging rather than the behavior many exhibit of speeding up to the cones and sitting there waiting for a gap.