Texas Administrative Code
Title 43 - TRANSPORTATION
Part 1 - TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Chapter 21 - RIGHT OF WAY
Subchapter I - REGULATION OF SIGNS ALONG INTERSTATE AND PRIMARY HIGHWAYS
Division 1 - SIGNS
Section 21.183 - Lighting of and Movement on Commercial Signs

Universal Citation: 43 TX Admin Code § 21.183

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

(a) A sign may not contain or be illuminated by flashing, intermittent, or moving lights, including any type of screen using animated or scrolling displays, unless the permit for the sign specifies that the sign is an electronic sign.

(b) A conforming sign may be illuminated. The illumination must be by upward or downward lighting of no more than 4 luminaires per direction of the sign face or faces of the structure.

(c) Lights that are a part of or illuminate a sign:

(1) must be shielded, directed, and positioned to prevent beams or rays of light from being directed at any portion of the traveled ways of a regulated highway;

(2) may not be of an intensity or brilliance that causes vision impairment of a driver of any motor vehicle on a regulated highway or otherwise interferes with such a driver's operation of a motor vehicle; and

(3) may not obscure or interfere with the effectiveness of an official traffic sign, device, or signal.

(d) A temporary protrusion may not be illuminated by flashing or moving lights or enhanced by reflective material that creates the illusion of flashing or moving lights.

(e) Reflective paint or reflective disks may be used on a sign face only if the paint or disks do not:

(1) create the illusion of flashing or moving lights; or

(2) cause an undue distraction to the traveling public.

(f) A neon light may be used on a sign face only if:

(1) the light does not flash;

(2) the light does not cause an undue distraction to the traveling public; and

(3) the permit for the sign specifies that the sign is an illuminated sign.

(g) A sign, including an electronic sign, may contain a temporary protrusion area of the sign face that displays only numerical characters and that satisfies this subsection and the requirements of § 21.176 of this subchapter (relating to Commercial Sign Face Size and Positioning). The display on the temporary protrusion may be a digital or other electronic display, but if so:

(1) it must consist of a stationary image;

(2) it may not change more frequently than four times in any 24-hour period; and

(3) the process of any change of display must be completed within two minutes.

(h) If the department finds that an electronic sign causes glare or otherwise impairs the vision of the driver of a motor vehicle or otherwise interferes with the operation of a motor vehicle, the owner of the sign, within 12 hours of a request by the department, shall reduce the intensity of the sign to a level acceptable to the department.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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