Least useful road signs? (MUTCD... but can include other countries' signs)

[colinstu]

What are some signs you think are the least effective / don't tell useful information? Or signs that seem like in a good idea, but in the end... could be lived without. This thread isn't about how we should all petition the government that signs are bad or good... just a time to share your thoughts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_the_United_States

Here's my list of ones that I just don't find helpful... heck didn't know the meaning to until I began driving.

"Keep Right" sign. Used typically on large roads that have a median(s) at intersections. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_R4-7.svg ...this related sign too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W6-1.svg
I think it's fairly obvious of which side of the median to be on. Wrong way + Do Not enter signs are used in places where such a mishap can happen.

And the three last signs I'm not a fan of are used for merging onto freeways.

"Merge" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W4-1.svg ...seemingly helpful sign, but on the same token... one thinks "no crap" when merging.

"Right lane ends or road narrows" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W4-2.svg I see this sign A LOT, but I don't like the graphic. The merge lane ends, not the right lane of the freeway. I think the diagonal "merging" part should be dashed and the real right lane should be solid up until hit hits the dashed diagonal merge lane. And the rest of the right lane up to the top will be dashed too.

"Added Lane" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W4-3.svg this is a decent sign, and actually the most helpful of the bunch imo. Knowing the lane you're in isn't ending and that you don't need to be worrying about looking on the road for a place to merge is nice.

I don't want to complain too much about other countries signs too much, but I know Europe has some pretty obnoxious merge signs. Really large, can actually be in the way of viewing the motorway when entering.

So what are your personal choices / thoughts on what I have to say?

[bulkyorled]

I agree that the Keep Right sign is basically useless. Duh keep right.
No Standing is a bit useless in my opinion. It works as a White curb but generally should just be No Parking since people decide to park there all the time.
Rumble strips? Why do we need a sign for that

Ive never actually seen any of those "DEAF CHILD" or whatever signs before except for the Children at Play, although I'm sure that also wouldn't stop people from blasting through the area or not pay attention.

But I like the merging ones you mentioned. It can be pretty obvious most of the time but every once and a while I come by a spot where it isnt so obvious and its a good notice haha

[colinstu]

No Standing is a bit useless in my opinion.

I like the idea of it, but in the end... most people don't even know what "No Standing" means. A&E's Parking Wars demonstrates this cluelessness pretty well, and I'm sure Philly and Detroit aren't the only cities with this problem.

Ive never actually seen any of those "DEAF CHILD" or whatever signs before except for the Children at Play, although I'm sure that also wouldn't stop people from blasting through the area or not pay attention.

I've actually seen a couple of these signs in south side Milwaukee. I don't know of the process which one needs to go through to get one of these signs... but once they're put up they aren't taken down automatically. Can get kinda rusty... I'm sure the "child" has grown up there and is long moved out. I'd link them but I find them completely by coincidence and don't make a note of where they are exactly.

Another favorite of mine is a random "CAUTION" sign http://goo.gl/maps/v0qR

THE HECK?! xD Looks like it was put up over a decade ago when this area was going through an overhaul and it was never taken down. Caution what?! there's nothing to be cautious about really.

[roadfro]

"Keep Right" sign. Used typically on large roads that have a median(s) at intersections. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_R4-7.svg ...this related sign too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W6-1.svg
I think it's fairly obvious of which side of the median to be on. Wrong way + Do Not enter signs are used in places where such a mishap can happen.

The regulatory sign in the first link is not necessarily related to the warning sign of the second link.

The regulatory (graphic "keep right") is meant to be used to guide traffic to the right of a median or obstruction. I would agree it tends to get overused in fairly obvious situations.

The warning sign is a "begin divided highway" sign, intended to warn that a highway splits to a divided status usually after a long stretch of no median.

"Right lane ends or road narrows" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MUTCD_W4-2.svg I see this sign A LOT, but I don't like the graphic. The merge lane ends, not the right lane of the freeway. I think the diagonal "merging" part should be dashed and the real right lane should be solid up until hit hits the dashed diagonal merge lane. And the rest of the right lane up to the top will be dashed too.

This sign is not a "road narrows" sign...It is a lane ends sign. Slight difference.

A lane ends sign isn't restricted to use in ramp merging situations, but any time a lane ends. You have to remember with this sign that it's depicting the roadway as being between the two thick lines (forming the edge of the road) and it's showing the road narrowing by the width of a lane with a merge distance. This sign used to confuse me when I was younger, and the addition of the dashed lane line helped clarify the meaning. Although I always thought it should have been depicted showing the road surface as black (essentially inverting the colors).



I was immediately thinking of "No Standing" as well. Who actually knows what this means, anyway? We had a topic about discussing the differences a while ago, and I still can't explain the difference...

A plain diamond "Caution" is also irritating. What am I to be cautious of?

Another pet peeve is the "Left Turn Signal" sign, which should be completely unnecessary -- so the DOT or other agencies need to actually use left turn arrows so this one can go away.

[1995hoo]

"Reduced Speed Ahead." It's grammatically incorrect, for one–it's the speed LIMIT that's reduced ahead, not the "speed," especially given that most drivers ignore the lower limit on many roads. North Carolina's variant reading "Reduce Speed Ahead" is much better. But aside from that, when I see either version my reaction is, "So what's the new speed limit?" I much prefer the newer Canadian-inspired yellow warning signs that show what the speed limit will be up ahead.

[bulkyorled]

I like the idea of it, but in the end... most people don't even know what "No Standing" means. A&E's Parking Wars demonstrates this cluelessness pretty well, and I'm sure Philly and Detroit aren't the only cities with this problem.

Exactly what I was thinking but I mentioned Parking Wars and got my head chewed off about it.  No Standing must be near non-existant in California & Nevada.
It seems easier to put a No Stopping Anytime sign or actually marking the curb white. Its not unheard of. I see white curbs pretty often now. I dont think there were nearly as many before as there are now around these parts.

[NE2]

"No Parking on Pavement or Parkway". These are all over the Orlando area.

[blawp]

END LANDSCAPING / BEGIN LANDSCAPING comes to mind.

[formulanone]

Not to sound like a daredevil, but this a vague pairing for which a 20mph right turn arrow would have sufficed:



I know, they're old...but more cryptic than useful, since there's all sorts of slow dangers that exist.

[agentsteel53]

anything detailing the exact number of dollars used for a construction project, ARRA/Tiger signs, "end construction" followed 0.2 miles later with "begin construction", etc... etc...

any sign (usually a VMS) that tells me to fasten my seatbelt, keep myself from driving drunk, and report all dirty Mexicans to the TSA, or just kill them myself...

but the worst, however, is "slow down! my Comic Sans works here!"

[Alex]

Any variant of the "congested area" type signs:

[myosh_tino]

Any variant of the "congested area" type signs:

I would think that warning sign could be useful because those on 405 doing 65-70 MPH over the pass should be aware of the potential for stopped traffic at the bottom of the hill at the 405-101 interchange.

On the other hand, 405 is so congested, there probably aren't many cars going 65-70 MPH which I guess would render this sign kind of useless. 

[agentsteel53]

similarly, at the Calexico East US border entry point, there are signs that say ...

speed limit 10 (maybe at 4am on Christmas morning?  probably not even then.)

and even worse:

no stopping! 

[kphoger]

México has signs that read:

Ceda el paso a vehículos sin frenos = Give way to vehicles without brakes.  Well, yeah, did I really need a sign to tell me that?  (It's used in mountainous areas where a truck's brakes might give out)

No prenda fuego sobre el pavimento = Don't build a fire on the pavement.  There was a custom to alert motorists of a broken-down car by building a small fire (à la road flares, I guess), and this sign is a carryover from that.  It's funny to see it on a freeway, though.

The sign I most common dismiss is Slippery When Wet.  In wet conditions, I choose my speed based on my tires' actual performance on the wet pavement, not on the presence or absence of a yellow sign.

[shadyjay]

Here's my nomination:

https://www.aaroads.com/northeast/connecticut050/i-091_nb_exit_008_01.jpg



I-91 NB in New Haven CT
(there's also one on I-91 SB in Wallingford CT)

[bjrush]

Bridge may ice in cold weather...on every single bridge...

[Brandon]

Bridge may ice in cold weather...on every single bridge...

Especially silly in Midwestern states where snow is present at sometime during the winter.

Another candidate is that European-system "!" sign.  WTF does that mean!?!  Name the hazard or show it in a pictogram, folks.

[J N Winkler]

Another candidate is that European-system "!" sign.  WTF does that mean!?!  Name the hazard or show it in a pictogram, folks.

In the field it is invariably used with a supplementary plate which identifies the specific hazard.  Most countries' traffic signing regulations actually forbid it to be used otherwise.

A classic example of a useless road sign is "Accident black spot" (no specific hazard named)--in Britain it is both banned and actively discouraged, but it used to be used fairly extensively in Ireland, and is a standard sign in some continental European countries, such as the Czech Republic.

[US71]

Bridge may ice in cold weather...on every single bridge...

Now it's Bridge Ices Before Road

[agentsteel53]

"Accident black spot"

I had never heard of this.  I googled it.  I can't say I've ever seen such a sign, in any European country... not even the Czech Republic, though I have been there only briefly as an adult.

[US71]

"Accident black spot"

I had never heard of this.  I googled it.  I can't say I've ever seen such a sign, in any European country... not even the Czech Republic, though I have been there only briefly as an adult.

South Dakota has X Marks the Spot noting fatality accidents.

[J N Winkler]

"Accident black spot"

I had never heard of this.  I googled it.  I can't say I've ever seen such a sign, in any European country... not even the Czech Republic, though I have been there only briefly as an adult.

I'm a bit surprised you didn't find any Google hits--at a minimum you should have found, for example, the minutes from the UNECE traffic signing committee dealing with their effort (about ten years ago) to find out what their member states' policies were with regard to signing for accident black spots.  ("Black spot" might be written as a closed compound, so "accident blackspot" might turn up more relevant hits.)

I travelled fairly extensively in Ireland in the summer of 1999, at a time when the country had probably less than one-tenth the motorway mileage it does now.  At the time the Irish motorway network was limited to the M25 around Dublin on the west side plus the M1 Monasterboice and Drogheda bypasses plus the M7 Naas bypass.  Most of the through roads, including the vast majority of the National Primary (N1-N25) mileage, was therefore two-lane in varying stages of improvement.  There were many "ACCIDENT BLACK SPOT" warning diamonds (English only, of course, despite the general requirement for bilingualism) on these roads.  More rarely, the warning diamond appeared with just a huge black dot (no word message).

[Compulov]

"Reduced Speed Ahead." It's grammatically incorrect, for one—it's the speed LIMIT that's reduced ahead, not the "speed," especially given that most drivers ignore the lower limit on many roads. North Carolina's variant reading "Reduce Speed Ahead" is much better. But aside from that, when I see either version my reaction is, "So what's the new speed limit?" I much prefer the newer Canadian-inspired yellow warning signs that show what the speed limit will be up ahead.

I *much* prefer that newer variant of this sign. This way you know exactly what you're getting into. Reduced speed ahead is too vague. Am I going from a 50 zone to 25 (not unheard of), or just 45 to 40? This example from Allentown, NJ sticks with me: http://goo.gl/maps/4rNC

Edit: Fixed a change of thought in mid sentence

[agentsteel53]

I mean, I did find google hits - it's just that I'd never seen such a sign in the wild in Europe.

[Kacie Jane]

I *much* that newer variant of this sign. This way you know exactly what you're getting into. Reduced speed ahead is too vague. Am I going from a 50 zone to 25 (not unheard of), or just 45 to 40? This example from Allentown, NJ sticks with me: http://goo.gl/maps/4rNC

You accidentally a verb there.

But yes, I much it as well.