Signs for Idiots

[jeffandnicole]

A similar sign, "KEEP OFF SHOULDER" has annoyed me whenever I've seen it. Usually it's around curves, though, so maybe they're going for people too lazy to, you know, keep their cars between the lines.

Usually I see that one approaching a traffic light. Then again, I'm in the Northeast where it's de rigueur to use the shoulder for right turns - and sometimes for opportunistic bypassing of a queue or a slow vehicle at a red light.

Reminds me of the time I was on surface streets in Danbury, CT, bumbling around in search of Old US 6 to get back to I-84*.  I came to a red light wanting to turn right, and I wasn't all the way over to the curb because to me that looked like a shoulder or "parking lane".  I sat there for several seconds, trying to remember if right turns on red are illegal in that state, and a local driver blew around me on the right.  (I don't think he even stopped at the light before making his right turn.)  Mom was like, "what is that guy doing?" and I said, "he probably doesn't want to wait behind the idiot driver from Ohio."  Satisfied the maneuver was legal in Connecticut, I made my right turn on red.

*Whole story: we'd gotten off the Interstate due to a traffic jam.  I didn't have a local map, but I trusted (perhaps too much for New England) my instinct and sense of direction.  Though the route we wound up taking through Danbury was anything but direct, when we got back on the highway, we found ourselves next to a black limo we were pretty sure we'd seen just before exiting.

Being that turning right on red is legal in all 50 states unless a sign is present, I don't know why you would have even considered that to be an issue.

And yes, I know it's illegal in NYC.  NYC is not a state though.

[hbelkins]

I remember when RTOR was not legal in Kentucky, but it was in Ohio.

How many states now have LTOR for the intersection of two one-way streets? Kentucky does.

[1995hoo]

....

How many states now have LTOR for the intersection of two one-way streets? Kentucky does.

37.

It's damn annoying when you drive in a state or territory that doesn't allow it and you encounter those types of intersections, too. I say "or territory" because the District of Columbia doesn't allow it despite having a fair number of intersections where it would be a wholly appropriate thing to allow. It's possible that as a Virginian who is used to left on red being legal I might ignore DC's prohibition on such turns from time to time...... (I'm the only person I know who makes lefts on red in Virginia when it's legal, though. I have a number of friends who think I'm nuts because they've never heard of it being legal. There used to be an intersection in Fairfax City where they even put up a sign saying you could do it, although they've since reconfigured the roads and it's no longer one-way to one-way.)

[Alps]

I know this is a departure from the more recent posts on this thread, but how's this for a sign for idiots?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kta_042_2011.jpg

It's at the southernmost of four exits for Wichita on I-35/The Kansas Turnpike.  My best guess is that some people thought it was the only exit for Wichita.  You might be able to guess what it looked like before someone decided to vandalize a perfectly fine sign assembly.  The left sign was a standard pull-through sign with two down arrows and only one control city, and the right sign didn't have the awkwardly placed "S."  I would have thought a standard "Wichita Next 4 Exits" sign in advance of this exit would suffice.  Also note the awkwardly placed exit speed warning tab.  Maybe someday the Turnpike will replace this monstrosity, thus putting it out of its misery.

Edit: And here's what it used to look like, so you don't have to guess: http://www.interstate-guide.com/images135/i-135_ks_st_09.jpg

It's not a Sign For Idiots. It's a Sign For Profit, so that stupid drivers going downtown might stay on the toll road another couple exits.

[PurdueBill]

I'll add to this thread by mentioning PennDOT's "LOOK LEFT-RIGHT-LEFT BEFORE PULLING OUT" seen at several intersections in the state.

[Ian]

^ That's the one. Except the ones I've seen aren't as ugly and don't use Clearview.

[PurdueBill]

^ That's the one. Except the ones I've seen aren't as ugly and don't use Clearview.

Yep--the Clearview makes this one especially annoying.  The "Don't Tailgate", "Buckle Up, It's the Law". and "Fasten Seat Belts Next Million Miles" signs in black on yellow with all Clearview are quite annoying as well.

[Ian]

^ That's the one. Except the ones I've seen aren't as ugly and don't use Clearview.

Yep--the Clearview makes this one especially annoying.  The "Don't Tailgate", "Buckle Up, It's the Law". and "Fasten Seat Belts Next Million Miles" signs in black on yellow with all Clearview are quite annoying as well.

Luckily, I think PennDOT 86'd the production of those signs. I haven't seen any brand new ones around, since all of the ones in my area were put up around 2004ish (which incidentally is when I think PennDOT started testing the font).

[Brandon]

I remember when RTOR was not legal in Kentucky, but it was in Ohio.

How many states now have LTOR for the intersection of two one-way streets? Kentucky does.

In Illinois, you can go from one one-way onto another one-way as a LTOR.  In Michigan, you can go from a two-way to a one-way as a LTOR.  Very useful for turning left onto a freeway entrance ramp.

[vtk]

Being that turning right on red is legal in all 50 states unless a sign is present, I don't know why you would have even considered that to be an issue.

And yes, I know it's illegal in NYC.  NYC is not a state though.

I had been under the impression all of NYS banned RTOR. Having not heard one way or another of other New England states, I wasn't sure.  I did think it odd that my AAA triptik, which had a comparison of state traffic laws, was silent on this point.

[empirestate]

Yep--the Clearview makes this one especially annoying.  The "Don't Tailgate", "Buckle Up, It's the Law". and "Fasten Seat Belts Next Million Miles" signs in black on yellow with all Clearview are quite annoying as well.

There are drivers out there who have more than a million miles logged...wonder if anybody's tried to get out of a seatbelt citation based on PENNDOT's sign? :-)

[1995hoo]

Being that turning right on red is legal in all 50 states unless a sign is present, I don't know why you would have even considered that to be an issue.

And yes, I know it's illegal in NYC.  NYC is not a state though.

I had been under the impression all of NYS banned RTOR. Having not heard one way or another of other New England states, I wasn't sure.  I did think it odd that my AAA triptik, which had a comparison of state traffic laws, was silent on this point.

No, it's definitely allowed in the rest of New York State. In fact if you're driving east on Jericho Turnpike from Queens into Nassau County you'll encounter a "No Turn on Red" sign fairly quickly after crossing the county line.

I would have suggested that perhaps your trip was back in the early 1970s if it weren't for your profile stating your age as 28. I've heard, but cannot verify from experience, that most East Coast states did not allow turns on red until the gas shortages in the 1970s, so back then there might have been a good reason not to know what the rule was. The comment from "hbelkins," whose profile shows he's been on the road for longer, further confirms this thought in my mind.

[PHLBOS]

IIRC, Massachusetts was one of the last (if not the last) states to allow RTOR (or LTOR for 2-One-way streets) circa 1980 as a fuel-saving measure (less idling=less fuel used).  Of course, when the law first took effect, nearly every signal had NO TURN ON RED signs erected (many of them were mounted on the signals themselves).  Over time, many of those signs ultimately wound up coming down when it was realized that RTOR did not translate to increased accidents.

Today, I believe that PA (particularly the SE corner) has a glut of NO TURN ON RED signs erected.

[vdeane]

Some people might also get the impression because NYC does ban RTOR, in one of the areas it acts like a separate state; the relationship between NYC and the rest of NY is much like the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada, except we don't have language issues.

[deathtopumpkins]

except we don't have language issues.

You don't? 

[agentsteel53]

IIRC, Massachusetts was one of the last (if not the last) states to allow RTOR (or LTOR for 2-One-way streets) circa 1980 as a fuel-saving measure (less idling=less fuel used).  Of course, when the law first took effect, nearly every signal had NO TURN ON RED signs erected (many of them were mounted on the signals themselves).  Over time, many of those signs ultimately wound up coming down when it was realized that RTOR did not translate to increased accidents.

when I was learning to drive in Massachusetts, I saw so many "no turn on red" signs that when there was an intersection without one, I assumed vandalism!

[agentsteel53]

except we don't have language issues.

You don't? 

fuck no, why the fuck would you fucking think that?

[Alps]

IIRC, Massachusetts was one of the last (if not the last) states to allow RTOR (or LTOR for 2-One-way streets) circa 1980 as a fuel-saving measure (less idling=less fuel used).  Of course, when the law first took effect, nearly every signal had NO TURN ON RED signs erected (many of them were mounted on the signals themselves).  Over time, many of those signs ultimately wound up coming down when it was realized that RTOR did not translate to increased accidents.

when I was learning to drive in Massachusetts, I saw so many "no turn on red" signs that when there was an intersection without one, I assumed vandalism!

There's still a NO LEFT TURN ON RED in Cambridge. That's how I found out it's legal in Mass otherwise.

[empirestate]

except we don't have language issues.

You don't? 

fuck no, why the fuck would you fucking think that?

Or as the majority of Bronx residents would say, "¿Qué?"