RE: Road Signs: Which way do I turn?

AustinBoston · Sep 28, 2003, 07:05 PM

Today s road travellers don t know how good they have it. Road signs in the old days were not what they are today.

Now days, when you approach an intersection, you are usually informed of what highway you are coming to. On secondary highways, there will be a sign saying:

Jct.
333

meaning the upcoming interesction is for route 333. Then, just before the intersection, there will be signs telling you which way to turn for your direction, such as:

Route 333 North
Rodneyville
Next Left

Then when you get there, there is a sign with an arrow, and usually a reiteration of the directional info:

333 North
Rodneyville
<===

After the turn, there s one more sign saying:

333
North

so that you know you made the right turn. Or is it the right left turn? Anyways, if you re outside of town, that sign will usually be followed by a speed limit sign.

You can count on these signs being either green with white lettering (directional signs) or white with black lettering (identification signs).

But back in the days of yore, that was not always the case. I can remember coming up to an intersection, and the designers had carefully marked it with a sign. It said:

444
<==>

Of course the road was 444, but which way do you turn? This would lead to a unique form of marital communications.

" Which way do I turn?"
" Towards Blatherville."
" Which way is that?"
" It s either north or west."
" So which is it, north or west?"
" I don t know. The map shows the road is diagonal. We want to go northwest."
" Can you tell me if it s a left or a right?"
" Well, that depends on whether we are going east or west on 555."
" I don t know if we re going east or west. I just followed a sign for Blatherville. It didn t say if it was east or west. I m not even sure if we re on 555 at all."
" So what does the street sign say?"
" Muddy Ox Road."
" There s no Muddy Ox Road on the map."
" So, which way do I turn?"
" Well if we we re going east, then turn left, and if we re going west, turn right."

Of course, with each statement, voices would get louder, and after the third sentence, horns would start blaring. Every local knows everyone knows how to get to Blatherville, no matter if your license plate is from three states away. Get out of the way!

Highway signs are even better. Ever notice that the top of the sign, where the " Exit 666" appears, is generally set to one side? That s because if the exit is on the left, the " Exit 666" will be shifted left, even if the first signs don t tell you that. It will be shifted to the right for a right exit.

Important note: After driving in more than 40 states, I have found one exception to this. This weekend, I found that in the Minneapolis/St Paul area, most " Exit 666" signs are centered over the main sign, not shifted in the direction of the exit. I ll have to remember this since I ll soon have to live with it.

But ignoring this exception, you can know which lane to move to (left or right) when they tell you:

Exit 666
Route 777
2 miles

even before they say:

Exit 666
Route 777 East
Left Exit

Interstate highway signs give all kinds of clues like this if you know what to look for.

Another advantage of modern interstate highway signs is their size. They can be read by anyone with legal driving vision from 1,000 feet away, and often more. I know this from an interesting experience. I was flying with my FIL in marginal weather. We were having trouble finding the Watertown, NY airport because of the haze. We were following I-81 (IFR=I Follow Roads), and found the airport by reading the exit sign on I-81. From a thousand feet in the air, we could read the highway signs.

But in the old days, sometimes the signs were small enough so that anyone travelling more than half the speed limit would never even see it. I can remember more than once having my father get beeped at because he was slowing down to read the signs. The signs weren t there to be read and followed, they were there to give the highway guys something to do one week seven years ago.

Then there s the green reflective paint that makes the sign as easy to read at night as they are in the day. Nowdays, there may even be lights set up to illuminate the sign without glaring in the driver s eyes.

In the old days, the highway signs changed color. In the day, they were green with white lettering, but at night, they were black with little round reflectors that were superimpoised on the letters. The only thing you could see were the reflectors. Of course, the reflectors would fall off, so that " Route 789" would loose a reflector and become " Route 769" at night. Nope, don t take that one...it s the wrong exit. Sometimes many reflectors would fall off, so that " Route 789" would become " R.ut_ 10_" at night. " Honey, what do you think that was supposed to say?"

Route numbers have improved some, but not much. I m sure there are still places where you could find County Road 15, State Route 15, US 15, Bypass 15, Business Loop 15, Alternate 15, and 15B.

" When you get to Tinytown, take route 15 to get to Lostburg." By the time you realize you should have asked which route 15, you re lost.

Now days, highway departments sometimes keep the foliage trimmed around most signs. But long ago, you d get three people who would tell you " Oh, that s easy. There s a huge sign for route 999." You d go back and forth, looking for the huge sign. If you found it, it was because you ran out of gas in the shade of the even huger tree that completely blocked the sign.

There are still isolated places with very poor signs, but they are way out in the middle of nowhere. They don t cause trouble for travellers, because of course all the locals know everyone knows which way to go to get to Blatherville. Just take 555 to 444 and turn left. Whatever you do, don t go down Muddy Ox Road, that s at least 16 miles out of the way.

Austin

6Quigs · Jul 25, 2003, 10:29 AM

AustinBostonSounds like you need to get a Navigational system installed in your vehicle[

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AustinBoston · Jul 25, 2003, 10:31 AM

6QuigsPerhaps you missed the point. Today s drivers don t know how good they have it.

Austin

birol · Jul 25, 2003, 10:54 AM

AustinBoston

QuoteORIGINAL: AustinBoston

Perhaps you missed the point. Today s drivers don t know how good they have it.

Austin

I love the road sign system. Have a compass and good maps, and just follow the signs. Can go almost anywhere as if I have been there few thousand times ! Except Caveman s house, I got lost there, was tired [&:][

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angelsmom10 · Jul 25, 2003, 11:04 AM

AustinBostonand it would be a cold day in h*ll when a MAN would ask for directions.[

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What s with that anyway?

birol · Jul 25, 2003, 11:05 AM

angelsmom10

QuoteORIGINAL: angelsmom10

and it would be a cold day in h*ll when a MAN would ask for directions.[][][][]

What s with that anyway?

If you don t know we can t tell you.

angelsmom10 · Jul 25, 2003, 11:09 AM

AustinBostonI know it s a male thing[:@][:@]

B-flat · Jul 25, 2003, 11:12 AM

AustinBostonI have a good sense of direction and so far I have not gotten lost. [

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angelsmom10 · Jul 25, 2003, 11:36 AM

AustinBostonAt least that you know of.....[

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DH always would say, I know where I m at.. (then look) and give his location[:@]

Turn Key · Jul 25, 2003, 11:57 AM

AustinBostonTrust me! I KNOW how good I have it now! Have been around long enough to remember when roads were not marked all that well. Also spent 3 years in England (Poor roads, hopeless highway markings and I had to drive on the left with a U. S. made car! What a trip![&:] Great country and people!!!), 3 months in Spain (Nice country and people but [: (] as far as roads go.) and 6 months in Greece (Didn t have to drive there and didn t want to[: (][:@][: (] plus the Greeks don t like us!). Yep, things are a lot better.[

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B-flat · Jul 25, 2003, 01:45 PM

AustinBostonWatch out in Kentucky![

] What I mean to say is that when you spend most of your life in one state (mine is NC) and then travel to another state things might look a bit different in the way of signs and their sizes.

AustinBoston · Jul 25, 2003, 04:20 PM

B-flat

QuoteORIGINAL: B-flat

Watch out in Kentucky![] What I mean to say is that when you spend most of your life in one state (mine is NC) and then travel to another state things might look a bit different in the way of signs and their sizes.

I have driven in 39 states, including Kentucky. Things are a lot better than they were in the 60s, which was better than in the 40s, which was better...

Austin (who never traveled outside New England/New York until he was married...)

tlhdoc · Jul 25, 2003, 10:56 PM

AustinBostonI think the reason we never went of vacation when I was a kid was that my DF was afraid he would get lost.[

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birol · Jul 26, 2003, 09:36 AM

tlhdoc

QuoteORIGINAL: tlhdoc

I think the reason we never went of vacation when I was a kid was that my DF was afraid he would get lost.[]

Naaa, he didn t want you to get addicted at a young age [8D]

wiininkwe · Jul 26, 2003, 10:24 AM

AustinBostonWEll, no doubt I m not the only one who has noticed this, but all those observations fly right out the window if you are driving behind, or between any large tractor-container trucks. There is no way to see the sign coming up next, or to get around the d*** truck to get in the right lane even if you could see the sign. Some days, there are so many big trucks on the road it s frightening. They should make them a little shorter (from the top, not the back) so that normal cars could see what s going on.
T
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