lane divider buttons

[TxVenture]

What does the trans. dept. of your city/state use for lane dividers on the roads in your area? Here in Houston they use what are called "buttons". They are circular approx. 3", about 1/2 to 1" high in the center and made out of a ceramic I think. They use them where an exit ramp seperates from the main part of the road to divide the lanes. When they are wet, they are just like greased rocks. The problem is at exit ramps they put them in groups of 8-10 about 1' apart and you can't get between them with a bike. Doesn't affect cars as they have 4 wheels but they scare the you know what out of me.

I called and got someone who actually understands what I was saying about those things when they are wet and the effect they have on motorcycles. He said that he will check on them as they now have an epoxy paint they can use instead. I know that wet paint is just about as bad, but not quite as these things are raised and rounded.

Just wondering.

 

Don H.

[mini-muffin]

They just use paint around here with some reflectors added in. We don't have lots of highway lights. I have seen some of those as well just can't remember where I was when I saw them.

 

Margaret

[Guest Popeye]

In KS they use paint.

If more visibility is required, signposts with reflectors on them are used.

 

Whenever I leave KS on the scoot, I immediately notice a change, for the worse, in smooth pavement.

 

I came here from the north & am used to potholes you can stand in.

[TxVenture]

Once you get outside of the big metro areas here in TX, the roads are very good, even the side roads which are called farm to market, or FM 1093, FM 1314, and so on. But in the metro areas do understand what you mean about pot holes.

 

Don H.

[jneed53]

In Dallas they use mostly paint, but a few spots have those buttons. I just go around them.

[TxVenture]

jneed, with the new construction here on I-10, west side of town, they put them at all of the newly constructed exit ramps about 1' apart so you can't miss them at the speeds you have to run to not get run over. when they are wet they are very slick and dangerous for a bike.

 

Don H.

[Wizard765]

In Ontario we use mostly paint but in some busy areas there are reflectors in the road. Due to snow plows they are recessed into the road and usually not a problem on a bike.

Now if we sent some snow your way and your municiplity invested in plows it would take care of the problem for you

[TxVenture]

wizard, just send the plows, don't need any of the stinking snow!!:no-no-no:

 

Don H.

[Redneck]

Those buttons are only put where you are not suppose to cross if you stay in the legal lane you will not need to cross them. If you are crossing them you are violating the law and can be ticketed.

[robertbob]

Twenty years ago there were a lot of them in Plano Texas,

Just about all left tune lanes had them. A lot of motorcycles went down.

The damage they did was not very Pretty.

Dallas Co. and Collin Co. had them. Little by little they all went away.

It is hard to think that in Houston Texas. That they would know better.

When there Friends and family are dieing it will change.

[bongobobny]

Same deal as Wizard 765. If they tried to use those "Buttons" they would find them on the side of the road in the spring...

[BuddyRich]

Bott Dots. They were invented in CA in the 50's I think.

 

They were originally made so you could see the painted lines better in the rain after dark. One of the side effects they didn't think about was the sound they make when you run over them. Which was an added plus for the freeways and drivers falling asleep. But they are slick even dry.

[Kregerdoodle]

I have allways called them Turtles.... as they feel like you ran over a Turtle in a cage... but like has been said, not fun to hit with a bike!

[spotsy]

In Va they use a bevel type. It slopes from both ways so a plow can push over them without tearing them up. They are made of metal and epoxied to the asphalt after they are counter sunk. I would say they stick up maybe a half an inch or so in the middle. There are plenty of them here mainly on the primary and interstate roads. I have not seem them pose a problem while riding because of their low height but I would not want to go through a curve hitting them wet or dry.

 

The other thing that Va does is cut grooves in the asphalt on the shoulders and they act as rumble strips so if you drift on the shoulder you get a load noisr and vibration. It's mainly used on the interstates to wake people up that try to fall asleep. I would say that has been a big life saver to many but would not feel very good on a bike. Just ride down the road and have a tractor trailer drift over the edge to the shoulder and you can hear them.

 

Spotsy

[Condor]

Bott Dots. They were invented in CA in the 50's I think.

 

They were originally made so you could see the painted lines better in the rain after dark. One of the side effects they didn't think about was the sound they make when you run over them. Which was an added plus for the freeways and drivers falling asleep. But they are slick even dry.

 

What I've found is that even though they are annoying when hitting one it's only for a nano-second and not enough deflection to cause a problem. Here in Ca. they are all over the place and if they were a huge problem we'd have riders going down in droves.....

[dynodon]

They are called Botts Dots and aren't used anywhere they have things called snow plows! In Illinois they use painted lines with reflective tiny glass beads in the paint or spread on the wet paint.

 

For some roads they use a yellow reflector glued into a divot cut into the road, with metal curved bars on each side of it to move the plow blade up and over.

 

Anything sticking up will get shaved off every year by our snow plows.

[cmiles3]

Same dots here. The rumble strips on the shoulder aren't too bad when you roll across them on your bike. I've had to pull off several times and haven't had any issues with crossing them, even braking hard.

 

Watch out for painted stripes; in some places they use melted plastic instead of paint. Not bad when fresh, but they get very slick after several months of traffic. The crosswalks are the worst.

 

In Va they use a bevel type. It slopes from both ways so a plow can push over them without tearing them up. They are made of metal and epoxied to the asphalt after they are counter sunk. I would say they stick up maybe a half an inch or so in the middle. There are plenty of them here mainly on the primary and interstate roads. I have not seem them pose a problem while riding because of their low height but I would not want to go through a curve hitting them wet or dry.

 

The other thing that Va does is cut grooves in the asphalt on the shoulders and they act as rumble strips so if you drift on the shoulder you get a load noisr and vibration. It's mainly used on the interstates to wake people up that try to fall asleep. I would say that has been a big life saver to many but would not feel very good on a bike. Just ride down the road and have a tractor trailer drift over the edge to the shoulder and you can hear them.

 

Spotsy