Stop signs

Jill. In answer to your questions, Yes and Yes & Yes.

Our HOA put up unauthorized and unapproved Stop Signs throughout the community in a misguided effort to "slow down" traffic. The Stop signs are not approved by the Dept of Motor Vehicles; they do not have the required approvals engraved on the back.

They were bought from a local sign maker.

They were put up per the will of people who had NO IDEA what they were doing and were placed on the major through street without regard to placement in easements or distance from roadways.

The stop signs were placed without regard to the county signage rules of traffic flow; no study was performed.

The signs cannot be enforced by either the HOA nor the county sheriff.

The signs are a premises liability because people come into the park from the public, eg delivery people, contractors, who are not expecting to see haphazard signs about on the roads.

People who live in the park are of two camps: those who ignore and laugh at the signs and those who want everyone to obey the signs and like to should down those who ignore the signs. The signs have created even MORE discord in the park and have failed to "slow down" traffic.

My advice is: don't do it!

Bad idea to add the Stop signs... That opens up a whole lot of legal, insurance, and jurisdiction issues... It's best to contact those responsible for roads like the city/county/state etc... There may be a process to be able to put up a stop sign or other options. We had to go to our Code department and city to put in "No parking" in our HOA. Required us to get a law passed and a special code variance.

Stop signs have some serious legal issues involved with them. Especially if one is ever removed. You can go to prison and pay a HUGE fine for doing so. A non-approved sign can open up to some serious liability. One that your insurance company may not cover.

Best to leave this up to the experts...

This is the world... The poster has a brain... They can see what state I am from... Let them use their brain and stop with the whole "This is this state etc..." crap already. It's advice. Whether you take it or not is up to you. It's also up to you taking the advice to pursue the details as it applies to your situation.

I would contend depends if you are a gated community or are your streets open to general public??? If they are open to general public then potentially you need your local government approval for any "public signs".

The streets we have are deemed "private", but are open to the general public. The City of Los Angeles is being sued for $20M because of their decision to stand on the sidelines. They refused to sell us the same signs as they installed on public designated streets.

We are a gated community.

The MUTCD also states that STOP signs should not be used for speed control. This principle appears to be based on the results of several studies that have shown that when STOP signs have been installed for the purpose of controlling the speed of vehicles rather than to reduce the likelihood of vehicle conflicts at intersecting roads, the vehicle speeds between the sign installations typically increase over what they were prior to the signs being erected.

KEEP READING:

SUMMARY

“STOP” signs and other types of signs, traffic lights, road markings, and any other device that is used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic are “traffic control devices.” Several decades ago, Congress determined that uniformity in the use and display of traffic control devices was an important federal interest and passed laws requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop and adopt uniform standards for these devices. These standards currently exist in a document known as the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The U.S. transportation secretary has decreed under authority granted by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 that traffic control devices on all streets and highway open to public travel in each state must be in “substantial conformance” with the standards issued and endorsed in the manual.

The manual contains standards and guidance for both the form and use of the various types of traffic control devices. The criteria the MUTCD identifies that should be considered when a decision is being made to use a particular type of traffic control device are also known as “warrants.” The standards and guidance in the MUTCD are universally accepted by traffic engineers and authorities at all levels, including municipalities, and are indicative of sound engineering judgment.

The MUTCD contains both general guidance for when STOP signs should be considered and more quantitative guidance for consideration when traffic officials are determining if signs should installed on more than one approach to an intersection, i.e., “multiway” stops. Typical of the general guidance are stipulations that STOP signs should not be used for speed control and that, in most cases, the street carrying the lowest volume of traffic should be stopped rather than the busier street. Typical of the quantitative guidance applicable to consideration of multiway stops are criteria accounting for accident history for certain types of accidents that are amenable to correction from STOP signs, average traffic volumes on the major street approaches, average combined volume (vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists) on the minor street approaches, and approach speed of traffic on the major street.

FEDERAL LAW

Pursuant to federal statutory and regulatory requirements, the federal highway administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation adopted the Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices (23 USCA §§ 109(d), 114(a), 217, 315, and 402(a); 22 CFR 655, and 49 CFR 1.48 (b)(8), 1.48 (b)(33), and 1.48(c)(2)). The manual defines traffic control devices as all signs, signals, markings, and other devices used to regulate, warn, or guide traffic, placed on, over, or adjacent to a street, highway, pedestrian facility, or bikeway by authority of a public agency having jurisdiction. The manual is incorporated by reference in 23 CFR, Part 655, subpart f, and is recognized as the national standard for traffic control devices on all public roads open to travel in accordance with 23 USCA §§ 109(d) and 402(a).

In the MUTCD, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, under authority granted by the Highway Safety Act of 1966, decreed that traffic control devices on all streets and highways open to public travel in each state must be in substantial conformance with the standards issued and endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration.

MUTCD GUIDANCE FOR STOP SIGN INSTALLATIONS

General Guidance for STOP Signs

In terms of general guidance, the MUTCD (§ 2B.05) states that STOP signs should be used if engineering judgment indicates that one or more of the following conditions exist:

● Intersection of a less important road with a main road where application of the normal right-of-way rule would not be expected to provide reasonable compliance with the law

● Street entering a through highway or street

● Unsignalized intersection in a signalized area

● High speeds, restricted view, or crash records indicate a need for control by the STOP sign

The MUTCD also states that STOP signs should not be used for speed control. This principle appears to be based on the results of several studies that have shown that when STOP signs have been installed for the purpose of controlling the speed of vehicles rather than to reduce the likelihood of vehicle conflicts at intersecting roads, the vehicle speeds between the sign installations typically increase over what they were prior to the signs being erected.

In addition, the MUTCD states that:

● STOP signs should be installed in a manner that minimizes the numbers of vehicles having to stop. At intersections where a full stop is not necessary at all times, consideration should be given to using less restrictive measures such as YIELD signs.

● Once a decision has been made to install two-way stop control, the decision regarding the appropriate street to stop should be made based on engineering judgment. In most cases, the street carrying the lowest volume of traffic should be stopped.

● A STOP sign should not be installed on the major street unless justified by a traffic engineering study.

The MUTCD lists several considerations that might influence the decision regarding the appropriate street upon which to install a STOP sign where two streets with relatively equal traffic volumes and/or characteristics intersect. These include:

● Stopping the direction that conflicts the most with established pedestrian crossing activity or school walking routes

● Stopping the direction that has obscured vision, dips, or bumps that already require drivers to use lower operating speeds

● Stopping the direction that has the longest distance of uninterrupted flow approaching the intersection

● Stopping the direction that has the best sight distance to conflicting traffic

Respectfully, this might apply to you!

The MUTCD DOES NOT apply to "private roads". That is what the plaintiff's attorney tried to throw at us and they LOST

? would we not want our PRIVATE roads to be at least as safe as the PUBLIC roads ?

D'OH (imagine homer simpson)

My taxes pay for (supposed to) police enforcement and a fair justice system. After they refused, we are left to fend for ourselves.

Our roads have never been surveyed but the original planning documents accurately reflect the way the roads were built. The "Road Geometry" sheet from 1990 is better than any survey. In any case, over the years we've erected stop signs and a few speed limit signs without the approval of anyone. They're more like suggestions, than anything else, since we don't - and probably can't - enforce violations.

Very interesting as the OP on this I will clarify. We are county not city but a private road of normal tract homes and have a gate. The simple question I guess is since they attach stop signs to the street sign does that open up a liability issue for the association . I am thinking yes and the signs should come down. Reviewed the original tract map and county information. Only signs are "no outlet" signs . Our next meeting should be fun

Potentially if you are "private streets" within a "gated community" the BOD can do whatever they want as long as they follow your governing documents and State Laws. However, they may want to research attaching anything to "existing street signs" if those are owned by the Local Government. They may want to check with their local government ordinances to see if allowed ... in my City would not be allowed ... LOL.

Which is why I stated "if gated community". If you do not want or like any responses ... then exercise your freedom of choice to NOT post.

The street in question is directly outside the gates, and it is deemed to be private per a recorded document. The City of LA screwed up and they will unfortunately pay the price.