Measuring off an exact distance on the road

[Mr. Matté]

Today, I was out biking near Mt. Holly, NJ, and on CR 628 (Jacksonville Road) north of the town, there was a little sign in the road saying something along the lines of "one mile measure starts here" and included a line across the lane. Sure enough, one mile later, there was another sign stating that the one mile ended but this measuring continued on for I think three miles.

I don't see what use this is to the general public but I did check it against my bike's odometer, turns out that mine might be off by 0.01 mi. Anyone know of any similar things on their roads and if there is a specific use for it?

[hotdogPi]

On MA 125 between its south end and MA 28, there is "beginning of measured mile" and "end of measured mile".




Also, mile markers are not always accurate, but those with 3 decimal places on a bridge/tunnel always are. (At least in Massachusetts.)

[vdeane]

I-81 used to have one between exits 48 and 49 in NY, but then I-781 got built in the middle of it.

[oscar]

Today, I was out biking near Mt. Holly, NJ, and on CR 628 (Jacksonville Road) north of the town, there was a little sign in the road saying something along the lines of "one mile measure starts here" and included a line across the lane. Sure enough, one mile later, there was another sign stating that the one mile ended but this measuring continued on for I think three miles.

I don't see what use this is to the general public but I did check it against my bike's odometer, turns out that mine might be off by 0.01 mi. Anyone know of any similar things on their roads and if there is a specific use for it?

Many such signs call it a "speedometer check".  You maintain a steady speed through the marked mile(s), record exactly how much time it took you to travel that mileage, and use that to calculate your exact speed.

[roadfro]

I think a Nevada equivalent is the "5 Mile Test", most often seen on straight sections of highway. You'll see a sign for "Begin 5 Mile Test", then a "Mile #" sign every mile until "End 5 Mile Test". I believe they are intended for checking your odometer.

[roadman65]

I think a Nevada equivalent is the "5 Mile Test", most often seen on straight sections of highway. You'll see a sign for "Begin 5 Mile Test", then a "Mile #" sign every mile until "End 5 Mile Test". I believe they are intended for checking your odometer.

Maryland used to have a five mile test on US 50/301 between Annapolis and Bowie years ago.  It was as you described where there was a sign every mile until the 5 mile test was over!   

I do not think that today's digital odometers are as good as the old dials were.  I have found my car's odometer to not match the mile markers during a test I did a while back.  Then again, its only my car, so it could be I have a bad apple instead of all of them being off.  Then again it my be where I tested it too as sometimes DOT engineers make mistakes like on I-4 where there at one time was two different Mile 25 posts at two completely different locations near County Line Road in Florida.

[J N Winkler]

It is as Oscar and Roadfro says--signing for speedometer check sections is not specified in the MUTCD, but many state DOTs have standard signs for them in their sign drawings books.  However, I wonder if they are being phased out since I have seen construction plans sets in which speedometer check signing has been marked up for removal without replacement.  I also suspect that the states with such explicitly signed sections are in the minority.

[Alps]

It is as Oscar and Roadfro says--signing for speedometer check sections is not specified in the MUTCD, but many state DOTs have standard signs for them in their sign drawings books.  However, I wonder if they are being phased out since I have seen construction plans sets in which speedometer check signing has been marked up for removal without replacement.  I also suspect that the states with such explicitly signed sections are in the minority.

They'd never be in the MUTCD because they're not traffic control devices. Same reason that you can have small markers on the side of bridges for snowplows.

[J N Winkler]

They'd never be in the MUTCD because they're not traffic control devices.

I don't think that interpretation would fly in court.  The MUTCD defines a traffic control device (§ 1A.13) as follows:

Traffic Control Device--a sign, signal, marking, or other device used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or, in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction.

Per this definition, speedometer check signs are traffic control devices since they are official in character (placed in the right of way of a public highway under the authority of a public agency) and are designed to guide traffic.

I don't know why they aren't specified in the MUTCD.  In the run-up to the 2009 MUTCD, FHWA compiled a synthesis document showing many state-specific warning sign designs which were later added to the proposed text for that MUTCD edition.  (This synthesis document used many roadgeek pictures without direct attribution--I have a "STOCK CROSSING" photo that wound up in there.)  I am not aware that a comparable document was prepared for guide signs, however.  The MUTCD does not actually contain any language banning the use of guide sign types or designs other than those shown in the manual, so speedometer check signing only has to meet certain general guidelines as to location that are given in Chapter 2A, and as to color etc. that are given in Chapter 2D.

Same reason that you can have small markers on the side of bridges for snowplows.

I think this is just another area on which the MUTCD is largely silent.  Another that comes to mind is taper treatments for passing lanes that are about to end.  Kansas uses closely-spaced delineator posts, while Nebraska uses candy-stripe markers.  (Nebraska also used to have a special sign, based on a Canadian design, to indicate the start of a passing lane, but I haven't seen it in any recent trip to the state and wonder if NDOR was told not to use it anymore.)

[roadfro]

They'd never be in the MUTCD because they're not traffic control devices.

I don't think that interpretation would fly in court.  The MUTCD defines a traffic control device (§ 1A.13) as follows:

Traffic Control Device--a sign, signal, marking, or other device used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, private road open to public travel, pedestrian facility, or shared-use path by authority of a public agency or official having jurisdiction, or, in the case of a private road open to public travel, by authority of the private owner or private official having jurisdiction.

Per this definition, speedometer check signs are traffic control devices since they are official in character (placed in the right of way of a public highway under the authority of a public agency) and are designed to guide traffic.

I don't know why they aren't specified in the MUTCD.  In the run-up to the 2009 MUTCD, FHWA compiled a synthesis document showing many state-specific warning sign designs which were later added to the proposed text for that MUTCD edition.  (This synthesis document used many roadgeek pictures without direct attribution--I have a "STOCK CROSSING" photo that wound up in there.)  I am not aware that a comparable document was prepared for guide signs, however.  The MUTCD does not actually contain any language banning the use of guide sign types or designs other than those shown in the manual, so speedometer check signing only has to meet certain general guidelines as to location that are given in Chapter 2A, and as to color etc. that are given in Chapter 2D.

Odometer check tests are not used to "regulate, warn or guide traffic" though, so they aren't necessarily official traffic control devices. They could potentially be considered a general service sign in the blue sign category. (Nevada's signs are black on white, though.)

[Dr Frankenstein]

I know Québec has them on A-20 WB west of Quebec City, at 0, 1 and 2 km (exact wording: KM ÉTALON 0+000, 1+000 and 2+000). I think there's a set on Hwy 132 near Sainte-Flavie too.