(US) Why is the 'no passing zone' pennant yellow?

[agentsteel53]

I had always thought they were too small to be intended for driver use, just for road maintenance purposes.

[Ian]

I've always noticed those little signs in CT ("pass cards" as you call them)... wish more states used them.

I've seen similar type signs used in both Pennsylvania and New York.

[Duke87]

Somebody please tell me that I'm not the only one who was confused the hell out by "do not pass" signs as a kid. Because, after all, we just passed the sign! What were we, not supposed to go down the road any further?

[NE2]

My mom has a story about "signal ahead" and asking her sister which way she should signal.

[agentsteel53]

My mom has a story about "signal ahead" and asking her sister which way she should signal.

the one comparable story I have is noting that the text printed in the lane said "BUS TO YIELD" and nearly getting creamed.

apparently, you're supposed to read from bottom to top, despite the fact that the text was printed so close together that top-down was completely intuitive.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Quebec also has passcards, but they are definitely not intended for motorists, as they use a colour-based code, and are sometimes difficult to find in a timely manner, due to weeds, snow, and whatever else.

[mightyace]

After seeing the pass cards I knew I'd seen them before and not in Connecticut.

I may be mistaken but the one that I thought I saw in PA had a white background not yellow.

[deathtopumpkins]

After seeing the pass cards I knew I'd seen them before and not in Connecticut.

I may be mistaken but the one that I thought I saw in PA had a white background not yellow.

I noticed them as well. Looked similar to CT's but on a white instead of yellow background.

[JREwing78]

Michigan signs passing zones with the following, and has done so for several decades:

----- \                                      _______
|No     \                                   |   DO   |
|Passing|                                 |  NOT   |
|Zone   /                                  | PASS  |
------/                                      _______


Then

                                              ______
                                              |PASS|
                                              |WITH|
                                              |CARE|
                                              ______

Where this works extremely well is in adverse weather conditions (pavement stripes obscured by rain at night, snow-covered roadways, etc). Using the No Passing Zone and Do Not Pass signs in tandem increases their visibility beyond the use of the yellow sign by itself.

[mgk920]

WisDOT used 'PASS WITH CARE' signs until about 25 or so years ago.

Mike

[hm insulators]

In Lake Dallas, Tx , there is a no passing zone marked with both "No Passing Zone" and "Do Not Pass" signs. The center stripe, however, is broken yellow. Shows how smart city employees are.

I'll make sure to file a lawsuit after I am scraped off that 18 wheeler's grille.

[ctsignguy]

I had always thought they were too small to be intended for driver use, just for road maintenance purposes.

Talked to Jeff at ConnDOT's sign shop today and you are correct.  The pass cards were intended for the use of road striping crews to know when to apply dashes, double stripes and mixes of both...as Jeff noted "They may have been more useful decades ago when the speed limits were lower, but now, they are too small for the average motorist to notice reliably..."

[Mergingtraffic]

I had always thought they were too small to be intended for driver use, just for road maintenance purposes.

Talked to Jeff at ConnDOT's sign shop today and you are correct.  The pass cards were intended for the use of road striping crews to know when to apply dashes, double stripes and mixes of both...as Jeff noted "They may have been more useful decades ago when the speed limits were lower, but now, they are too small for the average motorist to notice reliably..."

One thing I notice when they stripe new lines on new pavement, they use small yellow or white squares every few hundred feet so the crews know where to paint the lines.  I don't remember them doing that years ago.  They seem to be less reliant on the pass cards.

[realjd]

One thing I notice when they stripe new lines on new pavement, they use small yellow or white squares every few hundred feet so the crews know where to paint the lines.  I don't remember them doing that years ago.  They seem to be less reliant on the pass cards.

The little flags they stick on the road where the lines are going to go? I'm pretty sure that those are just a convenient way to mark a temporary line for traffic purposes. It's more temporary and works better than painted temporary markings.

[mightyace]

^^^

I don't think that's it, realjd.

If I'm thinking about what doofy103 is thinking about, they are small squares of paint on the pavement where the line(s) will go when the full lines are painted.

But, they do help in navigating the highway until the real lines are done.

[roadfro]

Out in Nevada, road crews often use the little flags in minor overlay conditions (like a fog seal or slurry seal) to mark the travel lanes until the paint truck can come through.

I think crews around Vegas used to use little paint squares to later guide permanent striping. I think these were also somewhat used for temporary markings. This is an older practice now, as striping is typically laid out via a pilot line--spray painted marks on the finished surface similar to the "pass card" lines that also denote placement on the street--which is simply covered up by the final striping. Using the little paint squares along the road alone (without cones or other construction objects) is likely not considered acceptable enough by modern standards to denote temporary traffic control.

[Alps]

Well the little squares sure still see use in some places. Whenever I see them, in the absence of regulatory pass/no pass signage, I assume the entire road is a passing zone since I have no reason to believe otherwise.