Electronic Regulatory Signs

[Zeffy]

So, I was driving through Raritan today when I saw a 'NO TURN ON RED' sign that wasn't a standalone sign - it was electronic! It was wired into the traffic signal's timing to show 'NO TURN ON RED' whenever the light is red, and when it's not, the display shows nothing. I couldn't take a picture (sorry, I'm not good at driving and photoing), so I recreated what I saw using an animated GIF:



Anyone else seen these type of signs? And no, the 'YOUR SPEED' signs don't count - but the 'SPEED LIMIT' with a variable speed do.

[agentsteel53]

Seattle area has variable speed limit signs where the whole face, including white background, is made of LEDs.

[Big John]

Saw one in Michigan where the no turn on red sign was on only when oncoming traffic had a green left arrow for a protected left.

There are electronic speed  limit signs in Seattle and they are in FHWA E series.

[briantroutman]

Yes, I have seen these signs in many places. In my experience, the electronic "NO TURN ON RED" is used where an opposing direction of travel has a green arrow–and a turn on red would be a conflict. I've also seen them used as an alternative to signing auxiliary plates with days and times (M-F 7:30-10...)

And of course the dynamic lane controls (with the red "X" and  green down arrow) would also qualify.

They seem particularly common to prohibit turns where a roadway runs parallel to a grade-level railroad track.
In this example from GSV (http://bit.ly/1aVxupb), the sign lights up with "NO RIGHT TURN" when a train is present.

[agentsteel53]

Yes, I have seen these signs in many places. In my experience, the electronic "NO TURN ON RED" is used where an opposing direction of travel has a green arrow–and a turn on red would be a conflict. I've also seen them used as an alternative to signing auxiliary plates with days and times (M-F 7:30-10...)

I've seen NO TURN (either left or right) when a parallel railroad is blocking the turn.

as for creating a conflict - that is an often encountered, and easily resolvable, situation.  the traffic making the turn on red yields to those making a left or a U turn into the target direction.

[hotdogPi]

Speed limit sign entering New Hampshire from Massachusetts on I-93. (I think it changes between 55 and 65 at times.)

[roadman]

Speed limit sign entering New Hampshire from Massachusetts on I-93. (I think it changes between 55 and 65 at times.)

Only saw that sign display anything but 55 once on my way up to Hooksett for a meeting a couple of years ago.  It was a horribly foggy morning, the CMS was dispaying a static "Fog-Reduce Speed" message, and the variable speed limit sign was displaying 45.  There are a number of similar ground-mounted variable speed limit signs between Exit 1 and Exit 2 that haven't been activated yet, and there's a similar sign on the overhead CMS NB at the Windham weigh station.

[txstateends]

There are a couple of the LED no-turn-on-red signs in Dallas, with a red ball at the bottom of the sign instead of the word 'red'.  I know of at least a couple of other intersections that need these, because there's little street light available and/or the regular metal sign version has faded to where it's not legible at night.

The only others I know of are descriptive, not text-based.  Several intersections that parallel parts of the DART light rail routes in Dallas have electronic signs in white LED of an oncoming train (front view) whenever a train is approaching the side street, in order to warn those turning off the parallel street.

[jeffandnicole]

I would imagine that this particular 'No Turn On Red' sign is on during a limited portion of the red phase - could be for a pedestrian crossing phase, opposing movement phase, etc.  If it was on for the whole time, there'd be no reason why a normal sign couldn't have been used.

[Billy F 1988]

Missoula has about four of these along Higgins Avenue of that kind. There is an electronic oversize warning sign on Orange Street on the south end of the tunnel warning oversize trucks to turn right.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Burlington, VT loves the "NO TURN ON RED" LED signs. It also has the symbolic "No right turn" version in the same format at some intersections.

[US71]

Texas has variable Speed Limit signs as well as "nag" signs like

Stop Ahead
Signal is Red

Also STOP signs with flashing LEDS.

[jeffandnicole]

The NJ Turnpike has electronic speed limits signs.  On rare occasions, they are actually turned on.

[DaBigE]

Yes, I have seen these signs in many places. In my experience, the electronic "NO TURN ON RED" is used where an opposing direction of travel has a green arrow—and a turn on red would be a conflict. I've also seen them used as an alternative to signing auxiliary plates with days and times (M-F 7:30-10...)

I've seen NO TURN (either left or right) when a parallel railroad is blocking the turn.

as for creating a conflict - that is an often encountered, and easily resolvable, situation.  the traffic making the turn on red yields to those making a left or a U turn into the target direction.

Similar to mentioned above, they're quite common around Wisconsin for routes that parallel railroads. There are also quite a few around downtown Milwaukee. I came across a few there that were neon. Others were LED, which replaced old mechanical folding NO LEFT TURN signs. West Bend, WI used them to replace static NO TURN ON RED from Xam - Xpm signs at a school crossing when the intersection was reconstructed.

The intersection of Verona Rd (US 18/151) and McKee Rd (County PD) uses quite a few of them in conjunction with a recreational trail crossing (Military Ridge State Trail). They activate when the xing button is pressed and the walk phase comes on. I don't remember what it says when illuminated, as I've only seen them lit once a while back.

[colinstu]

There's numerous of them in Milwaukee, both downtown and around it.

Includes the no left turn arrow/symbol made in LEDs (turns on during rush hours), No Right Turn On Red signs in letters (usually in areas where there are lots of pedestrians, like around UW-Milwaukee), "Do Not Cross To US-41" for WI-100 entering I-94 EB before the Zoo interchange, "Do Not Cross To I-894" for 84th St entering I-94 WB (both of these turn on during rush hours)... there are numerous others like these that I've run across and have forgotten about.

[theline]

as for creating a conflict - that is an often encountered, and easily resolvable, situation.  the traffic making the turn on red yields to those making a left or a U turn into the target direction.

I agree that it is easily resolvable, and that it is incumbent on the driver making the right turn on red to look all directions to make sure there is no conflict from another driver or a pedestrian. This electronic sign can provide an extra measure of safety, because a driver may not otherwise recognize the danger from a left-turning or U-turning car. He has a lot of places to look and cannot know when other drivers may have green signals, unless there is one of these signs. The only alternative as safe is to erect a permanent "No Turn on Red" sign, but that restricts traffic flow unnecessarily.

These electronic signs are a good idea in the instances described, where there are conflicting left turns, U-turns, or specific hours restrictions.

[pianocello]

I've seen NO TURN (either left or right) when a parallel railroad is blocking the turn.

Example in Rock Island, IL. That was great timing by the GSV guy.

[realjd]

Florida uses a light up "no right turn" arrow sign instead of a light up "no turn on red" text sign. They're used both to protect pedestrians in the crosswalk and in cases where there are a number of cars on the crossroad making U turns.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Light up no left turn sign on Ontario Highway 7.  The highway runs adjacent to a railway line at this point.

[sammi]

Light up no left turn sign on Ontario Highway 7.  The highway runs adjacent to a railway line at this point.

Where on Highway 7 is this? Never seen it before, but that's because I've only ever been on York RR 7 and Peel RR 107.

[AsphaltPlanet]

Where on Highway 7 is this? Never seen it before, but that's because I've only ever been on York RR 7 and Peel RR 107.

It's between Brampton and Guelph.  This photo was taken in 2006, so the configuration may have changed.

[KEK Inc.]

Here's a few examples I drew up a while ago showcasing Seattle's variable speed limit system.  It's implemented initially on I-5 Northbound between Boeing Field and Downtown Seattle.  Since then, it's been added on I-90 & SR-520 (both ways) between Seattle and Bellevue.











The signs are made by Telegra, and weigh 309 lbs each.  Each cost about $15k.   

---
Near Husky Stadium, there's a similar 'NO RIGHT TURN' sign as the Ontario sign.
http://goo.gl/maps/AfPr3

[Zeffy]

I've heard about those signs that actually display the text in the FHWA font. Does anyone know how exactly that works? My closest guess is some guide that is sent to the sign that tells which LEDs (if those are even used on those things) to light up, which color, etc.

[Alps]

I've heard about those signs that actually display the text in the FHWA font. Does anyone know how exactly that works? My closest guess is some guide that is sent to the sign that tells which LEDs (if those are even used on those things) to light up, which color, etc.

We have these magical devices called computers...

For example, the NJ Turnpike Authority can send an image straight to the VMS, or it can send text and the VMS will display the text in the appropriate font.

[KEK Inc.]

The problem with the older VMS signs was the resolution of the dots.  Now that LED technology is a little cheaper to make a higher resolution (smaller diodes) sign, it's more possible to make graphics and appropriate typefaces.  I'm not sure how many different LED colors are in each 'dot' in the matrix, but you can mix different colors to get another color.

Here are some close-up photos: