Server Suggestion Variable Message Signs

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Implement electronic variable message signs above each lane on the highway that can be adjusted dynamically by Police or Dispatchers, alerting drivers of incidents well ahead of time.​

Signs
The variable message signs apply to the lane or slip road below them. For the highway, a sign over each lane will be required. These signs would be spaced out appropriately to allow for blocks that can be closed without impacting a large section of the road, at the very minimum before and after each junction.

For on-ramps, a single variable message sign would be used. No message signs are required for off-ramps as they leave the highway.

Signs are bordered by a black plate with lights that flash amber for temporary lane restrictions, and red (at a faster frequency) for lane closures. The suggested states are as follows:

80.gifNo restriction (Open)Indicates the normal maximum legal speed for that lane. Drivers must not exceed the limit displayed on the sign.
50.gifTemporary Speed LimitIndicates a reduced maximum legal speed for that lane. Drivers must not exceed the limit displayed on the sign.
left.gifTurn Left/RightWhen safe, drivers should move to the lane in the direction of the arrow. If the arrow points to the edge of the highway, drivers must leave at the next exit.
x.gifLane ClosedDrivers must not proceed in the lane marked.

The states of the signs would be codefined in the laws under 12.15 Road Markings and Signage.

Text message signs could also be used to complement the lane signs, providing traffic information to drivers such as 'Accident Ahead', 'Exit Closed', et cetera.

overhead.gif
Below is a map of suggested locations for each lane sign:
okyb4CB.png

Control
Below are examples of two ways that these variable signs could be controlled by a menu. All officers can access the menu, but only Road Traffic Officers, Dispatchers, and Supervisors can make changes to the signage. If no officers/dispatchers with editing privileges are on-duty anymore, the active traffic controls will expire and clear after 5 minutes.

1. Manual Control
Each variable message sign is represented by a silk icon overlaid on a map of the highway. By default, the signs are all either turned off or set to the default '80' speed limit.

Left clicking on an icon creates an 'incident' (if one does not already exist) that allows the officer to set the state of the message sign, add notes, and press a button to automatically broadcast the restrictions active on that lane with the reason (if provided). For example:

Dispatch: [Traffic Alert] Suburbs Highway (N) Lane 2 Closed | Reason: Stranded vehicle

Right clicking on an icon sets it to 'Closed'.

Tracking changes as 'incidents' like this allows for better logging and management of the sign messages but is complex to implement.

ControlMenuMain.png

2. Partially Automated Control
Instead of changing individual signs, officers can select 'blocks' of highway to either close, open, or impose a speed restriction on. The highway signage logic will then figure out which signs need to be changed and to what, do so automatically, and broadcast it. An example of how the lane closures are handled in real life for signs that get progressively closer to the incident: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/road-safety/red-x/.
In this example, as both lanes of Business Hwy E are blocked, the on-ramp is automatically set to 'Closed', as are the signals immediately after the last exit before the Business Highway. The signals before that are set to 'Turn Right' indicating that drivers should exit the highway at the next junction.

ControlMenuAlt.png



Why should this be added?:
+ Significant quality of life feature for both emergency services (including roadcrew, medics, and firefighters) and normal drivers alike.
+ Reduces collisions and tiers from unaware or inattentive drivers, increasing driver and officer safety, allows traffic to flow smoothly with fewer last-second merges.
+ Somewhat necessary given the constant abandoned vehicles/hazards in the roadway causing an almost-constant danger, especially with a larger highway and greater speed limits.
+ Compliments the use of the PBC function, as well as traffic control measures such as contraflow movement, cones, and barriers well, while also meaning that officers can immediately close a lane during an incident where cones cannot be placed down quickly enough and simultaneously send out a broadcast automatically.
+ Immersive and intuitive system that fits perfectly with the modern aesthetic of Paralake and the custom and unique nature of the server
+ A few more positive aspects that I haven't listed here, such as allowing roleplay like checkpoints and lane narrowing to be much more accessible.

What negatives could this have?:
- Requires additional training and scrutiny for Road Traffic Officers to prevent misuse, though this is easily refuted by pointing out that far more disruptive methods of abuse exist for RTOs such as placing blockades.
- Significant development work to implement

What problem would this suggestion solve?: Listed above; fixes road cones being almost unnecessary due to high speed frequently resulting in an unavoidable collision

Additional images:
matrix1.png



signals-and-signs-indicating-lane-closures-rule-258b_orig.jpg



471dcdee41f0e2f2f4be2d8d1da39187dd79b160.jpg


1280px-Smart_highway_signs_on_Interstate_90_in_Mercer_Island,_Washington.jpg

An older verison of this suggestion (https://perpheads.com/threads/electronic-highway-signs.54942/) was previously accepted, but eventually closed after the development vision changed. This suggestion has been reopened as the scale and speed of the highways has expanded dramatically since the original idea in V5.

Developers, contact me if you'd like more detail on how this could work.
 

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I'd like to see variable message signs on the highway and other roads, but bigger signs with text on them will allow for more uses. Your approach is too focused on lane control when it could be much more.

My plan for this was to exclusively allow dispatchers to set numerous signs around the map to (likely) pre-defined messages such as:

vms-lane-closed-right.pngvms-headlights.pngvms-speed-check.pngvms-slow-down.png
(graphics are just a low-fidelity prototype I did years ago, characters aren't aligned, it's not a real LED grid)

I don't think it's a good idea to add a closed/leave road indicator or red cross because players will 100% ignore it. If PD wants to fully close down a road they should set up a roadblock.
 
My plan for this was to exclusively allow dispatchers to set numerous signs around the map to (likely) pre-defined messages such as:
I totally get your idea, but with Dispatch slowly being phased out as barely anybody goes on the job anymore + lack of properly skilled dispatchers, this makes it obsolete.
Supervisors, Traffic Officers AND Dispatchers should be able to use it, I know some love to control the map but restricting it to dispatchers wouldn't help revive it.
 
There are no plans to remove the dispatcher role.
Since who gets to use is a minor part of the suggestion, let's focus on the signs themselves. It's very easy to change who can set the signs once developed.
 
I don't think it's a good idea to add a closed/leave road indicator or red cross because players will 100% ignore it. If PD wants to fully close down a road they should set up a roadblock.
Considering roadblocks will always be set up when a road is entirely closed, having the ability to set the variable signs to closed would save whoever deals with the road closure from having to temporarily abandon the scene to venture down the road and place "Road Closed" barricades. Yes the sign might get ignored anyway, but with the code already existing if you choose to implement other signs that could be used I can't see a downside to also having a road closed one.
 
Your approach is too focused on lane control when it could be much more.
Overhead lane signs are the standard for smart highways in Europe for good reason - it is simple and quick to interpret at a glance what you need to do in your lane.

My plan for this was to exclusively allow dispatchers to set numerous signs around the map
Disagree strongly - while Dispatchers should be encouraged to use this feature, limiting it to dispatchers only severely stifles the potential that it provides. Unfortunately, I don't think that any amount of exclusive features like this will ever convince enough people to play dispatcher to make it a common occurrence to have competent and multi-tasking dispatcher on duty often.

I'd like to see variable message signs on the highway and other roads, but bigger signs with text on them will allow for more uses.
[...]
My plan for this was to exclusively allow dispatchers to set numerous signs around the map to (likely) pre-defined messages such as:

vms-lane-closed-right.png
vms-headlights.png
vms-speed-check.png
vms-slow-down.png
This would be great. I think that message signs like this would be the most effective as a complement to these lane markers, rather than used instead of them (see the 'Real-world example' below). Separate message signs could also be implemented, as you said, on local routes without being too intrusive.

Having both might also help with the development overhead as the symbols and the text fields are completely separate, and separate advisory traffic information on the message boards from the legally obligatory speed limits and lane closures.
1751393295963.png
Adding these kind of screens integrates almost seamlessly into my incident map concept, just add an extra icon:
1751393705351.png

I don't think it's a good idea to add a closed/leave road indicator or red cross because players will 100% ignore it. If PD wants to fully close down a road they should set up a roadblock.
As in real-life, a red 'X' is not used to replace closing a lane with barricades, but it warns drivers ahead of time that the lane is closed and allows them to be held legally accountable for driving under them regardless. As @Dave mentioned, it is impossible to immediately set up a roadblock and even then drivers are often taken by surprise by a roadblock with no prior warning, swerving at the last moment or crashing into the cones.

I don't agree with the idea that players will ignore it - it would certainly be more noticeable and immediately obvious than a variable message sign, especially with flashing red lights as shown. Additionally, it is player's best interests to avoid a ticket and/or a car crash - people will soon learn that they should at the very least take caution.

 
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I would absolutely love to see this and I believe it would give more incentive for people to go into the role of dispatcher, cameras are nice, but having more to do would be a plus.

This would be perfect on on-ramps or off-ramps so people can prepare, it was too common that people would be going towards city bridge and not see any signs and completely miss seeing the road blocks and still continue to crash, this really needs to be considered to be implemented.
 
would be cool, but its probally gonna be hard as a dispatcher
Don't really understand this concern, Dispatchers aren't forced to use it 24/7 and the proposed menus are fairly simple. This would be primarily used by Road Traffic Officers and Supervisors.

As stated by earlier GP, the end users of this system is a minor part of the suggestion.
 
I don't think it's a good idea to add a closed/leave road indicator or red cross because players will 100% ignore it. If PD wants to fully close down a road they should set up a roadblock.
Isnt it possible also adding a Barrier gate that automatically for example close one side of the road (or both) depending on the situation? along with an automatic broadcast or something so players know that a certain tunnel is closed
 
Isnt it possible also adding a Barrier gate that automatically for example close one side of the road (or both) depending on the situation?
Implementing this would be bad for everyone except roadcrew workers who would see a 5000% increase in tiered cars to tow. Unmovable barriers on a highway are not viable in real life and even less viable in Garry's Mod.

along with an automatic broadcast or something so players know that a certain tunnel is closed
Already in the suggestion
 
Implementing this would be bad for everyone except roadcrew workers who would see a 5000% increase in tiered cars to tow. Unmovable barriers on a highway are not viable in real life and even less viable in Garry's Mod.
Dunno what you mean with its not viable in real life, its extremely viable here in Norway. It closes when theres accidents or road work inside the tunnel, its used outside all tunnels here both on highways and regular roads: 1751645643576.png
 
Dunno what you mean with its not viable in real life, it’s extremely viable here in Norway. It closes when theres accidents or road work inside the tunnel, its used outside all tunnels here both on highways and regular roads: View attachment 26995
A big park of a RTO’s job is setting up cones and creating broadcasts my main issue would be making a lot of it automatic/redundant to be honest - Also as northnortheast said, atleast with the current cone setup if an RTO has a brain it is very rare a car following road laws would tier but with your system if they miss the broadcast it is very likely
 

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