A Sig Alert is defined by the California Highway Patrol as "any unplanned event that causes the closing of one lane of traffic for 30 minutes or more, as opposed to a planned event like road construction, which is planned separately." Sig Alerts are issued by the CHP and are posted on their Web site (http://cad.chp.ca.gov/), broadcast on radio and television stations throughout California, and signalled to motorists via electronic billboards on the freeways. The term "Sig Alert" is as "real" as an English language word can be: in 1993, it was added to the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. (In practice, there is no standard spelling; the CHP Web site uses "SIG Alert," "SigAlert," and "Sigalert," all on the same page.) The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the state police force of California, originally a highway patrol agency created in 1929 to ensure road safety in California, it assumed greater responsibility as time went on. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ... The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a comprehensive multi-volume dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

SigAlerts originated in 1955 with the Los Angeles Police Department. By the early 1950s, the rapidly growing number of automobiles in Los Angeles had greatly increased the frequency and severity of traffic accidents and jams. Radio stations reported traffic conditions, but the LAPD refused to call radio stations with this information, so each station would call the LAPD, a process that tied up telephone lines and forced officers to repeat the same information again and again. 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the police department of the City of Los Angeles, California. ... Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ... Downtown Los Angeles skyline facing northeast toward the San Gabriel Mountains on a clear winter day. ... A telephone handset A touch-tone telephone dial Telephone This article is about telephone technology. ...

In 1955, Loyd C. "Sig" Sigmon began developing a solution. Sigmon was Executive Vice President of Golden West Broadcasters (a company owned by singing cowboy Gene Autry). Sigmon had worked for Golden West's station KMPC-AM 710 in 1941, but found himself in the United States Army Signal Corps during World War II, assigned to General Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff, in charge of non-combat radio communications in the European theater. Now, he proposed to apply his knowledge of complex radio networks to the situation in Los Angeles. 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Loyd C. Sigmon (1909-2004) was born in Stigler, Oklahoma to a cattle-ranching family. ... Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The Signal Corps is a military branch, usually subordinate to a countrys army. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Order: 34th President Vice President: Richard Nixon Term of office: January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961 Preceded by: Harry S. Truman Succeeded by: John F. Kennedy Date of birth: October 14, 1890 Place of birth: Denison, Texas Date of death: March 28, 1969 Place of death: Washington, D.C. First...

Sigmon developed a specialized radio receiver and tape recorder. When the receiver picked up a particular tone, it would switch on the tape deck and record the subsequent bulletin. The device cost about $600. The LAPD's chief, William H. Parker, was interested though skeptical, warning the inventor, "We're going to name this damn thing Sigalert." More practically, he refused to use it unless the receivers were made available to all LA radio stations -- it could not be a KMPC monopoly. There were several famous men named William H. Parker: William Harwar Parker was an officer in the Confederate States Navy and superintendent of the Confederate States Naval Academy. ...

Initially, half a dozen stations installed Sigmon receivers that had "Sigalert" stamped on its side. When a message had been received and recorded from the LAPD, a red light, sometimes accompanied by a buzzer, would alert the radio stations' engineers. Depending on the nature of the problem, the engineer could air the police broadcast immediately, interrupting regular programming if necessary.

One of the first major "Sigmon traffic alerts" was broadcast on January 22, 1956, causing a traffic jam. The alert described a train derailment near LA's Union Station and requested any available doctors and nurses to respond to the scene. Too many doctors, nurses, and sightseers drove there, making the situation worse. (The first SigAlert was on Labor Day weekend in 1955, and many stories on the SigAlert conflate these two events.) January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 was a leap year starting on Sunday. ... Waiting room in Union Station, Los Angeles Union Station in Los Angeles, which opened in May 1939, is the last of the great train stations built in America, but even with its massive and ornate waiting room and adjacent ticket concourse, it is considered small in comparison to other union... Labour Day (or Labor Day) is an annual holiday that resulted from efforts of the labour union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

At first, the LAPD issued about one alert a day, but soon other agencies were calling in messages they wanted broadcast, including rabid dog reports, gas leaks, and even a ship collision in Los Angeles Harbor. A druggist who had made a potentially fatal error in filling a customer's prescription took advantage of the system (who heard the SigAlert in time). It was also used to warn about the impending Baldwin Hills Dam collapse in 1963. 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1969, when the CHP assumed responsibility for freeway traffic from the LAPD, they took control of the SigAlert system as well. It is now used throughout California and limited to traffic situations only. Messages are still broadcast, but most radio stations now read the information from the CHP's Web service (http://cad.chp.ca.gov/sig.asp) rather than rebroadcasting the police dispatchers' voices. 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ...

References

• SigAlert! (http://harrymarnell.com/sigalert.htm)
• Snopes Urban Legends (http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/sigalert.asp)
• Current SigAlerts (http://cad.chp.ca.gov/sig.asp)