Yes you are correct. 39:4-115 governs right turns on red. A sign saying stop here on red is the same as the broad white stop line at an intersection. You come to a complete stop then if there is no sign prohibiting it you can proceed to make a right turn on red. Although I haven’t done traffic enforcement in a while the statute hasn’t changed.
I was a teenage driver in South Dakota when they joined the rest of the world and allowed Right Turn on Red (after a stop). In fact, in my small one-light town, I drove around the block a few times until it was just after midnight (according the the radio station) so I could be the first person in town to turn right on red. Such excitement!
Anyway, at that time the only place where there were two one-way streets were a left turn on red would make sense was one intersection in Sioux Falls. The law was written so it was allowed by state law, but the city of Sioux Falls put up a No Left Turn on Red sign. Buggers!
The “stop here on red” sign augments the white line. It helps you see something that’s sort of hard to see over your hood, especially when there’s snow on the ground. It’s like how they put arrows on the ground in a turn lane but they also put them on a sign.
The key part of that statement is the word “here.” Stopping on red is what you already do. So it must be marking the point where you must stop.
I don’t get why anyone would think it meant “No right on red.” Now, maybe if you didn’t have to stop to turn right, it would mean “you must stop first.” But you don’t.
Any idea where your dad got this idea?
“Stop here on red” means “stop here on red, then proceed if it’s legal/safe to do so.” It has nothing to do with “No turn on red.”