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Here's Your Sign - Inappropriately placed traffic control signs, and how they confuse and endanger
Georgia drivers.
Since moving to Atlanta twenty-three years ago, I have long been mystified by
the Georgia DOT's apparent lack of adherence to common driving law in its
implementation of traffic control signs throughout the city of Atlanta and state of Georgia. The
following diagrams and explanations show how improper implementation of traffic
signs are both counter-intuitive and dangerous to Georgia drivers.
Author's Note: This article makes use of diagrams and photographs to illustrate
examples. I have referred to drivers as being of the male gender ("he") in order
to make explanations clearer to the reader.
First, The Law, from the 2005 Georgia Driver's Manual, page 47, Item 4:
"When making a left turn at an intersection, alley or driveway, yield the
right-of-way to all traffic from the opposite direction, then proceed when
safe."
And from page 51, entitled How To Make A Left Turn:
"Move into the farthest left lane going in your direction... and yield the
right-of-way to all vehicles which are approaching from the opposite direction.
After yielding and when safe to do so, proceed with your turn."
Figure 1 shows a diagram of traffic flow through an intersection, as
governed by Georgia law, and consistent with the explanation given in the 2005
Georgia Driver's Handbook. Car 'D' making the left turn across lanes of oncoming
traffic yields for cars 'A', 'B', and 'C' and does not make
a turn until all lanes of oncoming traffic are clear. This includes
car 'A' making the right and moving in the same direction as the other oncoming traffic.
This is the conventional procedure for left turns at an intersection, and is the
law in all 50 states in the US. The procedure is simple, easy to understand, and
unambiguous.
Question: Given that the laws and procedures for left-hand turns are clearly
explained, well established and universal throughout the United States, why does
the state of Georgia almost universally use 'Yield' signs at intersections in
complete ignorance of this law, where they are counter-intuitive and therefore
dangerous to drivers?
Figure 2 shows a typical example of how yield signs are used at most
intersections around the city of Atlanta. The number of ways that this yield
sign layout is both confusing and dangerous to drivers include at least the
following:
1. The Law, as already established, says that Car 'D' making the left
turn must yield for all traffic.
As in any left turn across traffic, the driver in car 'D' will make his turn
based on the speed and distance of vehicles 'B' and 'C' coming toward him in the
oncoming lane. However, when the yield sign is used for the right hand turn,
the driver of car 'A' must now be aware of what is coming from behind and over
his left shoulder in order to know if car 'D' will make the turn. To do this
he must attempt to accurately gauge the speed and distance of cars 'B' and 'C'
either by looking in his side view mirror, or turning his head almost 180
degrees to look back at the road. This is the only way he can determine if he
can make the right before the driver of car 'D' turns in front of him.
There is no logical reason that the driver of car 'A' should be put in the
position of having to calculate the speed and distance of traffic behind him
before making a decision to turn. It badly complicates an otherwise simple
traffic situation where the rules are clear - Car 'D' should simply wait,
according to established traffic law, for all traffic to clear the intersection
- and this includes car 'A' making the right - before making the left turn across
traffic.
2. Yield signs on both corners of an intersection: In the case of
the second yield sign, a Stop sign is clearly called for when
traffic coming out of the intersection is essentially at right angles with the
flow of traffic on a main road. Many intersections use a stop sign for a left
turn and a yield for the right, a clear case of "overkill" and an unnecessary
taxpayer expense. In a case of an intersection that uses a traffic light,
there is no need for any sign at all.
3. One rationale in placing yield signs at intersections is that it allows
traffic in the intersection to clear the left turn lane when a light turns red.
But once again, the law is clearly spelled out that traffic in the intersection
is allowed to first clear the intersection before other traffic can proceed.
Further, there are many intersections where yield signs are placed for right
turning traffic where there is no light, and also at intersections where there
is no cross traffic through the intersection at all.
4. What may be the most dangerous factor in the use of these signs is the
inconsistency of their use. Most intersections use these improperly placed
yield signs, but others do not. As a driver, you are expected to obey common
traffic law at intersections where there are no signs: that is, the driver
making the left-hand turn crossing traffic must yield in all cases. Where
the signs exist, you must obey the sign and deal with all the difficulties and
counter-intuitive nature of traffic flow as a result of them, that is, you
must yield when making a right turn, and traffic crossing your lane has the
right-of-way.
In other cases, yield signs are also improperly placed at intersections where
traffic lights exist. Once again, from the Georgia Driver's Handbook page 51,
item 12:
"It is permissible to make a right turn on red at an intersection controlled
by a traffic control light after a complete stop, unless a
sign posted at that intersection does not allow turning."
[Author's comment: This indicates a sign that doesn't allow any turns on
a red light. Other than this, there is no mention of a "yield" sign or its
usage].
 Without going through another series of diagrams, simple discussion on this
point should suffice. The law says that if a light is red, you can make a right
turn after coming to a complete stop, then proceed only if you can do so
safely. When a "green arrow" governing a left turn allows vehicles to cross
lanes of traffic, the light governing traffic through the intersection
is always red, therefore, the law already requires that you stop
before making a right turn. So, why a yield sign on the corner?
When the light is green (not a left turn arrow), and traffic is flowing through
the intersection, drivers making a left turn across traffic are required to
wait, as always, for traffic to clear the intersection. Once again, the
driver making a right hand turn at the intersection with both a green light
and a yield sign is subject to the same confusing set of
circumstances where no light exists. Specifically, having to know what's
coming from behind and over his left shoulder to try to determine what the
driver making the left turn in front of him will do.
Additional confusion enters the picture if the light is red. In this case,
traffic procedures and laws governing a red light and a yield sign are not
consistent with each other. Are you required to make a complete stop for the
light (as the law says) and then make the turn if there is no traffic, or simply
slow down, "yielding" to traffic as necessary and continue moving, essentially
running the red light? Why should this determination be necessary when the law
governing right turns on red lights are already clearly established?
The Lesser of Two Signs
.JPG)
Another common traffic control error is to confuse right-of-way by using more
signs than are needed for smooth traffic flow. To illustrate, the above
photograph shows the intersection on the eastern I-85 access road just north of
Pleasandale Road. The intersection uses not only an improperly placed yield
sign, but three additional stop signs as well. Wading through the
confusion of signs, it can be shown that no one has clear right-of-way at this
intersection.
 On
the left is a diagram of the intersection as currently designed, viewed from
above. Traffic on the I-85 access road (coming from the left) proceeds north
toward Jimmy Carter Blvd. It is a two-lane, one-way road. The one-way
section ends where two-way traffic begins on the other side of the intersection.
A two-way bridge over I-85 connects the access roads on each side of the
highway.
Analyzing the traffic flow through this intersection:
1. The Green arrows indicate the options for vehicles going north on the one-way
access road. Vehicles must stop at the intersection, then either go left over
the bridge (left lane) or proceed straight ahead through the intersection and
continue on the now bi-directional access road as it heads toward Jimmy Carter
Blvd (right lane).
2. The Yellow arrow indicates that vehicles traveling south into this
intersection must turn right onto the bridge over I-85. Traffic here is given a
yield sign.
3. The Blue arrow indicates that vehicles coming over the bridge must make a
left turn and go north on the Access Road. Traffic here is given a stop sign.
First, the proper procedure when encountering a yield sign is to slow
down, proceed with caution, and stop for traffic that has the right of way.
A stop sign, of course, means to completely stop until all traffic is clear.
Therefore, if traffic coming south into this intersection is required to
yield to traffic that already has a stop sign, no one legally has the
right-of-way. Traffic at the stop sign is already supposed to have stopped,
and you cannot yield the right-of-way to already stopped traffic.
.JPG)
The
simple solution here to remove signs where they are not needed, as
shown in the figure to the left. The traffic coming over the bridge going
north toward Jimmy Carter Blvd. (blue arrow) and those proceeding southbound
making the right over the bridge (yellow arrow) need no signs at all. The
extra 'yield' and 'stop' signs currently used at this intersection do not help
traffic flow, they only confuse drivers. This sign layout at this intersection
too confusing to allow a driver to comprehend who has the right-of-way at any
given time.
I first drove through this intersection shortly after moving to Atlanta in 1983.
It has been twenty-three years since I moved here, and this intersection
has not been rethought, upgraded, repaved, or even repainted in twenty-three
years. It is exactly the same as it was a generation ago, as are most of
the intersections in this Dekalb neighborhood. Is this an example of value for
the ad valorum tax dollar?
In summary, most yield
signs at intersection corners in Atlanta are improperly placed and not needed.
They do not help traffic flow, only hinder it. They are confusing, go counter to
existing traffic law, and are therefore dangerous in their implementation. Other
intersections such as the one discussed in the Lesser of Two Signs
scenario show a lack of common sense and knowledge of driving law in their
layout. The scope of this article does not allow discussion about more than a
few examples of these poorly designed intersections, but they are everywhere
in the city of Atlanta, and the state of Georgia.
In your day-to-day
driving experiences, how many times have you seen drivers make an improper left
across an intersection because they mistakenly expected a driver making a right
to stop, not realizing they had made the error? How many times have you seen
drivers making a right turn stop to wait for traffic when they were supposed to
proceed with their turn? This confusion is caused when traffic signs are placed
where they don't belong. Without consistency in sign placement controlling
traffic, drivers become unsure of the law and the proper procedures governing
the individual intersection they are driving through. Teenagers new behind the
wheel are both especially at risk and a danger to other drivers because of this
inconsistency. If they have taken any type of driver training at all, they have
learned the law as written, but must deal with a confusing hodge-podge of
badly-placed signs and the poor execution of traffic control at a time when they
have little experience behind the wheel. Visitors to Georgia must also
come to terms with this complete change in procedure at corners, as in most
other states, common driving law governs right-of-way, and yield signs are not
used.
Finally, there's the cost
to the taxpayer. The citizens of Georgia paid for every one of the thousands
of these unneeded signs. Consider how much it cost to place a sign there:
first, the cost of sign, the post and cement to hold it, the cost of placing it,
and its continued maintenance and upkeep. Given the expense alone, they should
placed only where needed, are properly implemented, and logical. In a situation
where repaving and repainting of streets and interstates in some areas
of Atlanta has not been done in over 30 years, how many taxpayer dollars are
needlessly spent placing traffic control signs where they should not be and are
not needed?
The Georgia DOT truly
needs to reconsider how it implements traffic control signs at intersections in
this state. The primary requirement should be strict adherence to already
established and common traffic law. To do otherwise only adds more difficulty
negotiating an already overburdened street and highway system. Taking it
further, confusing traffic control sign implementation kills people.
Isn't that reason enough to consider the change?
(c) 2006 Philip A. Buonpastore. |
