No Passing Zone Pennants

[Brandon]

Driving in Tennessee last weekend, I noticed that TDOT does not use the No Passing Zone pennant on its roads.  That's something I also noticed in California as well.  So far, I have come up with a very short list of states using them (on the DOT level - counties and municipalities may vary):

No pennants, relies solely on paint:
Tennessee
Missouri
Oklahoma
Louisiana
Texas
North Dakota
Washington
Montana
Colorado
Nevada
Washington
Oregon
Idaho
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia

No pennants, uses "Do Not Pass" and "Pass With Care" signage:
California
Hawaii

Pennants:
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Nebraska
Kansas
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania*
Wyoming
Arizona
Utah

Pennants with "Do Not Pass" and "Pass With Care" signage:
Michigan
New Mexico

Sometimes uses signage, sometimes does not:
Arkansas

*Uses the other signage as noted in a comment below.

Personally, I prefer the pennants with the extra signage as in Michigan - makes the zones easier to see in the snow, rain, and when the paint fades.

OK, as I've been rooting around on Google Maps Street View, I've been able to add and modify my post.

[Zeffy]

New Jersey uses the pennants. I think they are on mostly county roads though, like this one on CR 514:

http://goo.gl/maps/Xs90M

[roadman]

Based on my observations over the years, I'd say that Massachusetts is about 70/30 - 70% of no passing zones don't use the pennant, while 30% of them do.  And, where used, a pennant always supplements a regular "DO NOT PASS" sign.

[vtk]

ODOT used to use NO PASSING ZONE pennants, but they seem to be gone now.  I also remember frequently seeing UNMARKED NO PASSING ZONES when crack sealing operations had obscured the yellow stripes.

[briantroutman]

Pennsylvania uses NO PASSING ZONE pennants, too–I can't guarantee it's absolutely 100% of the time, but close to it. Pennants are usually followed by DO NOT PASS signs, which PennDOT is also infamous for repeating on many rural roads through long no passing zones.

[jeffandnicole]

New Jersey uses the pennants. I think they are on mostly county roads though, like this one on CR 514:

http://goo.gl/maps/Xs90M

I would say NJ rarely uses pennents. And in this example, it's not used properly. Pennents are used where the No Passing zone begins, not in the middle of it.  It's quite possible there used to be a passing zone up to this area, judging by the white spray paint.  Since the entire area is now a no-passing zone, the sign should be removed.

When the pennents are used, they seem to be used without rhyme or reason.  The vast majority (over 99%) of passing zones don't have them.

[formulanone]

They're quite rare in Florida...this one along Snake Road (with its 19 "artificial" curves) is one of the few I've seen in the state.





Can't recall any in Alabama or Georgia, either.

[myosh_tino]

Driving in Tennessee last weekend, I noticed that TDOT does not use the No Passing Zone pennant on its roads.  That's something I also noticed in California as well.  So far, I have come up with a very short list of states using them (on the DOT level - counties and municipalities may vary):

No pennants, relies solely on paint:
California
Tennessee

The No Passing Zone pennants are very rare in California (I want to say I've seen them but I'm not 100% sure) but the black-on-white DO NOT PASS (R4-1) signs are used pretty extensively.

[agentsteel53]

I feel like I've seen a DO NOT PASS in CA on a yellow background.  same rectangular form factor as the white.

I've definitely seen PASS WITH CARE on both white and yellow backgrounds.

I have also seen the pennants here and there.  I feel like there's one on CA-36 coming down the hill westbound from Chester, and then maybe on 395 up in Susanville?  the reason CA's have stuck out is that they have Series EM text.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky transitioned from the black-on-white "DO NOT PASS" and "PASS WITH CARE" signs to the black-on-yellow "NO PASSING ZONE" pennants sometime in the 1970s, about the same time we started using retroreflective sheeting, but I don't remember the exact year.

Kentucky also marked the beginning of passing zones by placing three little round white reflectors on a small post on the right side of the road. That practice is not in use quite as much nowadays but you can still find those markers. I don't think their purpose was ever explained, but I figured it out easily enough when I put their location with the start of the painted stripe passing zone's beginning together.

I personally like the black-on-white signs better than the pennants.

[agentsteel53]

sometime in the 1970s, about the same time we started using retroreflective sheeting

I think KY has used retroreflective sheeting since the 50s.  I've seen an embossed shield with reflective sheeting and I believe it's an early 50s retrofit.

[J N Winkler]

I have also seen the pennants here and there.  I feel like there's one on CA-36 coming down the hill westbound from Chester, and then maybe on 395 up in Susanville?  the reason CA's have stuck out is that they have Series EM text.

South Dakota (which uses the pennant extensively) has a similarly nonstandard design, with (if memory serves) "NO" in Series E Modified.  I don't think California has its own spec for the pennant anymore--none is listed on the specs download page.

Edit:  In my experience, there is also state-to-state variation in how intersection no-passing zones are treated.  Some states stripe, while others don't.  Some of the states that stripe also sign, while others stripe only.

[Brandon]

Driving in Tennessee last weekend, I noticed that TDOT does not use the No Passing Zone pennant on its roads.  That's something I also noticed in California as well.  So far, I have come up with a very short list of states using them (on the DOT level - counties and municipalities may vary):

No pennants, relies solely on paint:
California
Tennessee

The No Passing Zone pennants are very rare in California (I want to say I've seen them but I'm not 100% sure) but the black-on-white DO NOT PASS (R4-1) signs are used pretty extensively.

Come to think of it, I did see those on the two-lanes out there.  It was neighboring Nevada that had nothing but paint.

[Big John]

Can't recall any in Alabama or Georgia, either.

They are rare in GA, but do exist, mainly in a 2-lane undivided to 4-lane divided transition area, but sign placement is often erroneous there.  For a project i was working on in that case, i had a heated argument with a project manager who insisted that the pennant went on the right side of the road.

[getemngo]

I'm a big fan of the pennants because a car overtaking another car is more likely to see a sign on the left side of the road. It's kind of an archaic shape (pointing to the right side so that you move over?) and should probably be regulatory instead of warning, but it certainly gets your attention.

In Michigan, if there's one lane in the direction of travel but two lanes in the opposing direction, a passing zone still ends with the NO PASSING ZONE/DO NOT PASS combo, but a passing zone will begin with either this sign, or one of these:

[Brian556]

They are rare in Texas, but have been used in US 380 W of Denton.

There were none when I worked for TxDOT, but my boss told me that there used to be some on US 380 W of Denton , but they had been removed. Oddly, after I quit TxDOT, some new ones were installed on this section of road. It is now under construction, so I don't know if they are there or not.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.232406,-97.226429&spn=0.000072,0.049567&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.232392,-97.22623&panoid=NEL0TfxvdL-2nTzDlHP2wA&cbp=12,94.76,,0,13.13

[Brandon]

^^ From what I can see, the pennant is a symbol sign.  A big-ass arrow pointing you back toward the right side of the road.

[Brandon]

They are rare in Texas, but have been used in US 380 W of Denton.

There were none when I worked for TxDOT, but my boss told me that there used to be some on US 380 W of Denton , but they had been removed. Oddly, after I quit TxDOT, some new ones were installed on this section of road. It is now under construction, so I don't know if they are there or not.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.232406,-97.226429&spn=0.000072,0.049567&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=33.232392,-97.22623&panoid=NEL0TfxvdL-2nTzDlHP2wA&cbp=12,94.76,,0,13.13

OK, then maybe I need a category of "Uses them some times, and not at others"?

Also, one thing I've noticed, is that these states which do not typically use the pennants are also the same states that typically do not use reflectors mounted on posts on the right side of a freeway (side-marker reflectors)

[agentsteel53]

is this a current-spec sign?  looks to use Michigan custom fonts and the verbiage is something found in the 1930s-60s in many other states.

[getemngo]

is this a current-spec sign?  looks to use Michigan custom fonts and the verbiage is something found in the 1930s-60s in many other states.

Hmm, that's a good question. It appears that it's not in the current Michigan MUTCD, but I was still seeing them all over the state less than 5 years ago. Since MDOT tends to replace signs on a 20 year basis, that suggests they were still being posted into the early 1990s.

I know I've seen similar signs in another state in just the last year or two, but I honestly can't remember which one.

[J N Winkler]

Hmm, that's a good question. It appears that it's not in the current Michigan MUTCD, but I was still seeing them all over the state less than 5 years ago. Since MDOT tends to replace signs on a 20 year basis, that suggests they were still being posted into the early 1990s.

They aren't in the 1994 Michigan MUTCD either.  I don't know if it was that edition that phased them out.

[hbelkins]

sometime in the 1970s, about the same time we started using retroreflective sheeting

I think KY has used retroreflective sheeting since the 50s.  I've seen an embossed shield with reflective sheeting and I believe it's an early 50s retrofit.

I'm talking about the honeycomb stuff that's prone to peeling off.

[Brian556]

As far as the honeycomb (high-intensity) sheeting goes, I'm wondering if the stuff produced when this sheeting type first came out was more prone to peeling than the same type of sheeting produced at a later date. I remember a crossbuck in my hometown that was peeling badly in the 80's that had this type of sheeting.

However, most of the signs in Lewisville are high intensity, and are now well over 10, in some cases 16 years old, and not a one is peeling.

[PurdueBill]

Based on my observations over the years, I'd say that Massachusetts is about 70/30 - 70% of no passing zones don't use the pennant, while 30% of them do.  And, where used, a pennant always supplements a regular "DO NOT PASS" sign.

I remember seeing a decent number of the pennants while living in Massachusetts, but it may depend on the region.  I thought of US 1 in Topsfield right away when this came up.  Numerous passing zones, usually but not always with pennants and accompanying DO NOT PASS signs.  Some have just white signs.  Much older NO PASSING white signs, in the old font, lasted into the 80s maybe in decent numbers but are very rare anymore.

[bugo]

No pennants, uses "Do Not Pass" and "Pass With Care" signage:

Arkansas sometimes uses these signs.