Q: It seems like some of our road signs, for example the signs telling slow drivers to pull over if they’re delaying traffic, just aren’t working. Can we add some extra signs that encourage drivers to be courteous to other drivers?
A: Before I respond to that question, I think we should start with a more fundamental question: What’s the purpose of a road sign? While you may have an opinion on what we should use road signs for (and your ideas might be great), the people that put up the signs follow the rules of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and, in Washington, any modifications to the rules as documented in the Washington Administrative Code (WAC). Additionally, The Department of Transportation has a traffic manual that I haven’t read, but based on the summary it appears to combine the most frequently used details of the MUTCD and the WAC into one more user-friendly (126 pages instead of 862 pages in the MUTCD and 64 sections of laws in the WAC) document.
According to those rules, the functions of signs are to “provide regulations, warnings, and guidance information for road users.” If a sign doesn’t tell you the law, warn you of a hazard, or give you some information about upcoming services and interest areas, you probably can’t put up your sign. Even if you really, really want to tell another driver to be courteous (and haven’t we all), you can’t do it with a road sign.
But wait, you say, there are signs that don’t conform with those rules, like the signs that show who adopted a stretch or highway, or ones in memory of someone killed by an impaired driver. True, but both of those signs are specific programs approved by the state or local jurisdiction, with a set of rules that govern how and when those signs can be installed.
Okay, if we can’t put up signs reminding drivers to be nice, how about more signs with the law on them? Would that help? According to the WSDOT Traffic Manual, no. It states, “Sign use must be limited and conservative since signs can lose their effectiveness when used to excess.” If you doubt the manual, I’ll tell you I’ve heard that same thing from enough traffic engineers that I’m inclined to believe it. Even so, I did a little of my own research and, without boring you with details, concluded two things: too many signs lead to visual clutter that distracts drivers, and reposting the law on multiple signs does not lead to more compliance of the law.
And now the big question behind all the other questions we just asked: If more signs won’t change driver behaviors, what will? I wish I had a singular answer for that, but I don’t think there is one. The folks that work in traffic safety and transportation have been asking variations of that question with increasing frequency. In the last ten years annual traffic fatalities in Washington have risen from 426 to 750, with most of that increase in the last two years. The experts have identified several things we can do to change that:
- Design roads that naturally encourage compliance with traffic laws.
- Build vehicles that protect their occupants and other vulnerable road users.
- Set appropriate speed limits.
- Provide rapid post-crash care.
- Grow a community of safe road users.
It’ll take a while to do all that, so for the moment, let’s begin with the last one, and apply some advice from Bill S. Preston, Esq. to our driving: “Be excellent to each other.”