# Have you ever seen a stop light at an on-ramp? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901 "2015-01-15T16:28:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/1 "2015-01-15T16:28:12Z")
I remember a long time ago, somewhere here in Dallas (On 75 maybe?) there used to be a stop light letting you on to the on-ramp of a busy highway. What seemed so stupid about this light is that it had nothing to do with the actual traffic on the highway. It just arbitrarily let people in regardless of the traffic. And what sucked about this particular on-ramp, is that it was a fairly short on-ramp. So unless you’re in a fancy sports car you’re basically on a suicide mission once that light turns green. I’m just curious if anybody else has seen this kind of crazy in their city. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/2 "2015-01-15T16:31:38Z")
In the California Bay Area there are lots of on-ramps that have lights to control the flow of cars at peak hours, but they’re just green when it’s not rush hour. During times of heavy traffic, they just make sure that the cars are evenly spaced. So I guess not the same thing. I’ve never seen a light that was arbitrary like that. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/3 "2015-01-15T16:34:28Z")
There used to be at least one in the St. Louis area. Like **dangermom** says, it was timed to space the cars out evenly. But I can’t remember where it is/was exactly. It’s going to bug me now. Someplace in Clayton or University City I think. Damn, that’s going to bother me… ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/4 "2015-01-15T16:36:03Z")
Yeah, it would make sense if all the on-ramps had lights like that. But the one I’m talking about was just a single on-ramp. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/5 "2015-01-15T16:41:06Z")
Yes, lots of them around Atlanta, though not all of them, and they’re only on at high-volume times, but like **dangermom** described, I think they’re used to space traffic, rather than what the OP has described. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/6 "2015-01-15T16:45:09Z")
Yes, on 66 in Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/7 "2015-01-15T16:46:35Z")
All over the place around here. As said, pacing during high-traffic hours. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/8 "2015-01-15T16:46:58Z")
They’re called [ramp meters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp_meter). ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/9 "2015-01-15T16:47:11Z")
Very common here in southern California. Usually only operational at rush hours, though. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/10 "2015-01-15T16:49:29Z")
They’re all over the twin cities but I hadn’t seen them before moving here. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/11 "2015-01-15T16:50:55Z")
There was one here in Austin at some point. I don’t know if it’s still there. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/12 "2015-01-15T17:03:13Z")
I’ve seen them in Dallas and Houston; I’d expect they would be in any large city that has congested freeways that are fed from feeder (access) roads. As said upthread, they are only active during peak traffic times when starting from a stop on a short entrance ramp doesn’t make any difference (if the main lanes are only going 30 mph, you don’t need a Maserati, a Yugo will do). They are pretty new, having only been around for about 10-15 years or so. Their purpose is to meter the traffic entering the freeway. Without them, traffic coming from a stoplight on the feeder (access) road would bring the main lanes to a halt because you had 10 cars or so wanting to get on consecutively. The lights pace them out a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/13 "2015-01-15T17:08:34Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > I’ve seen them in Dallas and Houston; I’d expect they would be in any large city that has congested freeways that are fed from feeder (access) roads. As said upthread, they are only active during peak traffic times when starting from a stop on a short entrance ramp doesn’t make any difference (if the main lanes are only going 30 mph, you don’t need a Maserati, a Yugo will do). They are pretty new, having only been around for about 10-15 years or so. > > Their purpose is to meter the traffic entering the freeway. Without them, traffic coming from a stoplight on the feeder (access) road would bring the main lanes to a halt because you had 10 cars or so wanting to get on consecutively. The lights pace them out a bit. Where have you seen them in Dallas? Because the one I’m talking about was some twenty years ago. And those cars on the highway weren’t going 30mph, more like 60. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/14 "2015-01-15T17:17:19Z")
I’ve seen them in the Chicago suburbs when you get on the Edens. I haven’t been on the Edens in years, so I don’t know if they still have them. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/15 "2015-01-15T17:21:56Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Where have you seen them in Dallas? Because the one I’m talking about was some twenty years ago. They’re currently on several ramps in the heart of Dallas and Houston (and other cities I imagine). They’re only used during rush hour to meter traffic, as mentioned above. Otherwise, they stay off. ETA: If you saw one actively used during off-peak hours, it could well have been malfunctioning. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/16 "2015-01-15T17:27:18Z")
They are used at a few entrances to I435 in Kansas City. Generally when they’re activated, you don’t have to get up to normal highway speed to merge, because the heavier traffic is moving more slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/17 "2015-01-15T17:30:17Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I’ve seen them in the Chicago suburbs when you get on the Edens. I haven’t been on the Edens in years, so I don’t know if they still have them. Yep, they’re all over Chicagoland, mostly on the most congested highways. Dan Ryan or the Ike close to downtown is where I mostly see them. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/18 "2015-01-15T17:32:17Z")
Boy, you’d really hate the 110 Fwy between downtown LA and Pasadena. The majority of the ramps there have stop SIGNS. So you are forced to gun it between small gaps in traffic. [Here’s an example.](http://www.socalregion.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/110_stop_sign.jpg) I learned to drive on that freeway. My driving instructor told me that if I could merge onto that freeway, I could merge onto any freeway. He wasn’t kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/19 "2015-01-15T17:52:40Z")
New England in general, Connecticut in particular and the Hartford city region especially have some of the most f\*cked-up roads I’ve ever driven - whenever one makes yet another peculiar jog, stop, side-step or crossing, Mrs. B. is wont to mutter, “Because Paul Revere said so.” Things like major and essentially uncontrolled intersections, as well as stop signs and stop lights in peculiar and difficult locations, are common. There is more than one case where a small surface road suddenly turns into a highway onramp - little warning, no option to get off, and often a hard curve turning into a 100-foot acceleration strip, meaning you either hang on, hit the gas and pray the 70 mph traffic sees you, or you slam on the brakes and get rear-ended by someone attempting to do the above. Intersections that cross two roads and completely block some turns - there is one that looks like a T intersection and lies between two halves of a busy business district (an auto strip)… but when you reach it along its length, from either direction, your ONLY option is to turn onto the feeder roads to the highways. If you just wanted to get from one block of dealerships to the others (of the same owner), you have to know to go around this road, which is the main, obvious connector on a map. The roads connecting the myriad of small towns are even worse, as they meander all over the place and change names every 500 feet. Only the practice of designating certain strings of streets as “routes” keeps you from being lost more than 50% of the time. It’s not unusual to come into a town on a 4-lane road, have to catch a small side exit onto a residential street, jog a couple of times at confusing intersections, then make a sharp turn onto another road to stay on the simple “route” between two town centers. It’s a lovely place to cruise aimlessly in a summer car with the top down. It’s an effing nightmare to drive purposefully without brass balls, AWD, GPS and a sense of being in an Escher engraving. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901/20 "2015-01-15T18:00:23Z")
We’ve had them here in the Bay Area for decades. When I first moved here from Boston and encountered one, my thought was: _What the hell? who would **ever** stop for this? Ain’t no cops around!!_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-seen-a-stop-light-at-an-on-ramp/709901.md?page=2)