Thursday Trivia

Thirsday Trivia
Welcome to Thursday Trivia where we offer up a historical automotive trivia question and you try and solve it before seeing the answer after the jump. It’s like a history test, with cars!
This week’s question: What are the blue road reflectors on U.S. roads supposed to signify?
If you think you know the answer, make the jump and see if you are right.
Earlier this week we talked about the Model T and how that iconic Ford model put the world on the road. Of course back when the Model T was new, most roads outside of cities were nothing more than dirt paths or if you were lucky oiled dirt. As the automobile became more ubiquitous so did the need for safer roads, and those roads needed lane demarcation that would work even in limited visibility conditions.
blue dotThe earliest efforts at this were in England in the 1930s. There, English inventor Percy Shaw developed the Cat’s Eye road marker, a glass and metal reflector that eventually would be used world wide. Perhaps the most famous of all lane markers are Bott’s Dots, ceramic or plastic polymer raised discs developed by, and named in honor of, Dr. Elbert Dysart Botts while he was working as a Caltrans engineer. Bott’s Dots were originally intended to be mounted with nails to the asphalt roadway, however that proved impractical and a sturdy mastic was found in replacement that was both durable and effective.
Bott’s Dots have limited reflective properties and a need was identified for a road marker than possessed the properties of both the Cat’s Eye and the Bott’s Dot, a raised, reflective marker that could serve as both visual and physical indicator.
The road reflector that filled both those needs and which is used seemingly world-wide today was developed by the Stimsonite Corporation of Niles Illinois. Stimsonite would eventually be bought, and then later sold, by the Avery Dennison Corporation and is now owned by the Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions company. Other companies make raised reflective markers, here in the U.S., and they all make them in different colors. Those colors mean different things in their various uses, and today we’re wondering what the use is of blue reflective markers here in the U.S..
From The Slate:

Blue RPMs are designed to catch the eye of emergency vehicle drivers as they indicate the presence of a hydrant on the side of the road. Steven Cole, president of the Reflective Tape Store, notes that blue markers are typically placed at the center of the road or on the side. If the hydrant stands at a corner, then each road might have its own marker. Marcia Lozer, a spokeswoman for 3M Roadway Safety, notes that blue RPMs may also indicate emergency entrances onto roads near firehouses—so they’re something even regular motorists might want to notice.

Blue road reflectors don’t serve the same purpose in much of the EU where they instead indicate the location of police slips from which the po-po can monitor traffic. Other colors can also serve different functions depending on locale. As example, red means wrong way in the U.S. but typically indicates the shoulder in Europe. White reflectors are generally ubiquitous the world round indicating lane divisions.
Image: The Slate

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11 responses to “Thursday Trivia”

  1. CruisinTime Avatar
    CruisinTime

    Indicate a Fire hydrant.

  2. Fred Talmadge Avatar
    Fred Talmadge

    I was thinking what poor implementation of a warning device if few knew what it mean, including me. Then I see it’s nothing I really need to know, except now I will.

  3. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    When these first started going in, it was usually firefighters who were the ones gluing them down, and it was one of their duties, when not out on calls. It may still be the case in some cities.

  4. Papa Van Twee Avatar
    Papa Van Twee

    I actually knew this one without using Google. Yay, me!

  5. longrooffan Avatar
    longrooffan

    @cruisintime:disqus ….I knew this as well. @fred87:disqus …so long as the fire departments know it, all is good. @dukeisduke:disqus ….Also, little known fact. In many municipalities, the fire department is also responsible for painting the fire hydrants themselves. Check this out… http://oleragtop.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-i-saw-today.html

    1. Vairship Avatar
      Vairship

      It is the dogs, of course, who are responsible for painting the fire hydrants yellow…

  6. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Are these used in other parts of Canada?

    I’ve never seen them in Alberta, and just assumed it was an American thing, but apparently not.

    I’m also assuming that the reason we don’t use them is that they wouldn’t handle snow clearing machinery very well.

    1. dead_elvis Avatar
      dead_elvis

      They’re pretty rugged, but yeah, a plow can smash or remove them. They do OK in Vermont & upstate NY.

  7. dead_elvis Avatar
    dead_elvis

    There were orange AND blue ones in the parking lot/driveway of the warehouse complex I work in. I know the property maintenance guys put in the orange ones after a couple of the blue ones got crunched or scraped off. Of course, none were replaced after the repaving almost 2 years ago.

  8. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    Botts’ Dots!!!
    Doctor Botts and his revolutionary Dots!
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Round_Botts%27_Dot.jpg/294px-Round_Botts%27_Dot.jpg
    The proper (speaking as an adopted Californian) name for those little reflective thingiemabobs in the road is “Botts’ Dot”: Though ‘Turtle’, ‘Button’ and ‘Armadillo Wings’ are in common usage.
    “Botts’ dots are named after Dr. Elbert Dysart Botts, a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) engineer credited with overseeing the research that led to the development of the markers.”
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botts'_dots
    Much of California is still covered by the original, semi-spherical, monochrome white dots installed since the mid-’60s. Later iterations (don’t ask how I know this) reflect an alarming shade of red if you approach them from the wrong direction. Not many people survive finding that out. Also, no one but me calls them Armadillo Wings… but if an Armadillo earns it’s wings, where is that going to happen? Every time you stray out of your lane and survive, an Armadillo gets its wings.

  9. outback_ute Avatar
    outback_ute

    Used in Australia for the same purpose