SignalTraffic Forums

by **DigitalMCO** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 3:20 am

Last night I was stationed outside our new football stadium to help provide bus service to fans following the end of the game. (We lost the home opener 38-33 in the dying minutes of the game by the way.) Anyway as I sat there in my bus I noticed that the intersection, which is normally in night flash mode (yellow/red), was flashing red in all directions. I just figured that our signal department programmed the timer to flash all red on game nights to help facilitate the orderly flow of traffic by stadium security.

As the night wore on and traffic diminished I noticed a police ATV roll up to the McCain cabinet and an actual police officer hop out. The officer proceeded to insert a key into the police panel door and flip the controller back into night flash. I was shocked, in all my years living in this city I have never, and I mean never seen a police officer open the cop door on a traffic cabinet and do something like this. And this includes back in the day when we had mechanical controller, which were all equipped with the corded manual advance buttons.

I have to say that I was shocked at what I saw, because other than me and our signal department here in town, I didn't think anyone else knew what was behind that door, much less actually know how to use it.

by **khardy** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:19 am

Hi Ron,

Around Houston, Texas on Sunday mornings, there are many off-duty police working traffic control around churches. We have seen them open the control boxes to reset the timing or mode on nearby traffic signals to accommodate the flow of traffic into or out of church parking lots. I am sure the same goes for any special events around town.

Cheers!

by **Troy** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:28 am

DigitalMCO wrote:..... an actual police officer hop out. The officer proceeded to insert a key into the police panel door and flip the controller back into night flash. I was shocked.....
I have to say that I was shocked at what I saw.......

You really need to get out more.

by **vaughn** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 11:51 am

Not to take away from your story but I saw a Bell Atlantic coin collector once. He was collecting coins from the pay phone :shock:

That was in 1999 and I haven't seen another pay phone coin collector since :No:

Besides that the only other person allowed in a control box besides DOT is Nick.

by **EPAC-EPIC-MARC** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:13 pm

vaughn wrote:
Besides that the only other person allowed in a control box besides DOT is Nick.

The switch compartment takes a different key than the main cabinet door. The police alone don't have access to the main cabinet door or access to the controller equipment. Police are allowed the limited options of flashing the intersection or manually advancing it...no programming or adjustments! :Wink2:

The key to open the main door is only available to a select few :crazy:

by **jab8356** on Fri Jun 28, 2013 12:21 pm

EPAC-EPIC-MARC wrote:
The key to open the main door is only available to a select few

Then why do I have 3 of them? :rotfl:

by **DigitalMCO** on Sat Jun 29, 2013 11:02 pm

Feeling the need to get out more,

and a desire to answer a question regarding what I saw the other night, I had the opportunity to talk to a senior member of the Winnipeg Police Traffic Unit the other day. I asked him about the use of police panels. He said when he started on the job 30 years ago they were issued a key and trained how to take control of an intersection on the old mechanical controllers.

He doesn't believe new officers are even issued keys today, and couldn't say if his key even worked in the new cabinets. Hey, who am I to tell him it does and possibly incriminate myself in the process. :No:

Normally an activated cruiser light bar and a couple of officers in reflective vests with flashlights are all they use to do traffic control at an intersections these days. So apparently what I witnessed the other night was very rare according to the officer.

by **Troy** on Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:14 am

Out/down here we are in and out of those cabinets (police panels) quite often putting the signal(s) on flash for collisions, parades, checkpoints...etc. They have little log books or small forms to fill out when you do it. The signal techs want to know who was in there, when and why. Most have so much paint on them that the keyhole is painted over.

YouTube · by **signal-in-the-box** on Sun Jun 30, 2013 12:23 am

Every day during the school year, a police officer comes to this intersection to stop traffic and let the buses out for the 4 schools on Lambs Rd. They park on the corner, walk over and open the cabinet, put the signals in flash, and stand in the center of the intersection.

by **Econo101** on Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:46 pm

I don't remember the last time I ever saw a cop use the police panel.

At work the cabinet assembly guys often joke while wiring one up how useless they are.

SignalTraffic Forums

Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Re: Oh, So That’s Why They Call It A Police Panel

Who is online