There’s a three-way stop at a four-way intersection in my city. One direction comes up a hill so it doesn’t have to stop. But for a long time, this fact was only communicated with a tiny little “3-way” sign. Not only were unfamiliar drivers tricked into thinking it was a 4-way stop by the presence of the little sign, it didn’t tell you which direction didn’t have to stop. There are now larger yellow signs* that explicitly say which direction doesn’t stop.
The fact that a supplementary written sign is required to explain what type of stop sign this is shows what an incredibly dumb idea it is that the same sign is used for both types of junction.
In my experience, “all-way” stops are usually indicated by a small supplementary written sign below the stop. If it is a junction where cross traffic does not stop, you can only discern this (when it’s critical to know it) by noting the absence of that supplementary written sign! Sometimes, presumably as a result of accidents caused by this idiocy, there is a large separate sign saying “CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP”.
It’s incredibly dangerous and stupid that they don’t use two fundamentally different signs to distinguish clearly between these two different types of junction.
Signs like that are pretty common near prisons. There are signs like that near the state prison here in Tucson along I-10. Escaping prisoners have been known to carjack people in an attempt to get as far away as possible.
I’m going to disagree with you. The red octagonal stop sign is pretty much standardized in North America and much of the world, with unfortunately a variant in many countries consisting of a circle and inverted triangle. How many different artistic designs do we need to convey what is basically a simple concept, the concept being, and I quote, “Stop” – and don’t proceed until it’s safe to do so. Rather than even more different variations meaning subtly different things, I’d rather the entire world standardized on the red octagon and let it go at that.
The stop sign means fucking stop, and don’t proceed until it’s safe. Where heavy traffic makes this impractical, there should be traffic lights. The little signs below the stop sign that say “4-way stop” are just a convenience – a courtesy, if you will. If I’m stopped at a stop sign and another car is coming down the cross street, I’m not going anywhere until it’s obvious that the car intends to stop. The opposite situation – where a little sign says “cross traffic does not stop” – I have only seen on private roads within shopping centres. The sign doesn’t appear on public highways because just about the only time it’s the case that cross traffic doesn’t stop is when you’re on a dinky little country road and coming up to an intersection with a major highway, in which case it’s pretty damn obvious.
My beliefs in all this are reinforced by the fact that I frequently drive through roundabouts. The rules are simple – the vehicle in the roundabout has the right of way, and any vehicle approaching the roundabout is faced with a “Yield” sign. Among the reasons I’ve driven for half a century without an accident is that if I see some lunatic approaching the roundabout at high speed in a jacked-up pickup truck with a tin-can muffler, I do NOT assume that he is actually going to obey the “Yield” sign, and on many occasions does not, but just barrels right in, and I’m the one who has to yield.
So in summary, we don’t need different kinds of stop signs because “Stop” should always mean just what it says – stop, and look around and see what’s going on before proceeding. If you want a different kind of sign that means something subtly different, we already have “yield” signs. The only thing incredibly dangerous and stupid is any driver who assumes that any stop sign is always a 4-way stop. Sometimes it isn’t, and even if it is, I’ve seen more than one asshole run a stop sign.
In the 1960s and 1970s I used to see these signs (I haven’t seen them in many years) — BLASTING ZONE AHEAD.
Brian Regan, a favorite comedian, has a routine where he says, “Uhh, shouldn’t that sign be, instead, KEEP OUT” ?
Years ago I was stationed at a base in North Carolina and I’d drive by a sign I thought was pretty cool — TANK XING. Simple, to the point, succinct.
I thought it would be cool to have a sign like that hanging in my garage. One night I had a few too many beers. The next morning I found that sign dismantled and in the trunk of my car. It’s now in my garage. 
True. Having lived and driven near several military bases I can attest to the fact that certain planes are big enough and loud enough that they can be startling.
On a trip to Ireland, which has many narrow and winding roads with stone walls on both sides, we saw numerous speed limit signs that said: “(speed limit) 100, 60 for safety”.
Huh? Isn’t that the purpose of a speed limit, for safety? So you can go 100 (kph) if you wish, but have to pull it back to 60 if you want to be safe…
Was that maybe from the time (surprisingly recent) when Ireland was transitioning from miles to kilometers for their speed limits? In other words, the sign meant “100 KPH or 60 MPH”, which are approximately the same thing?
We used to vacation every summer in Quebec, and we always passed this sign, which I find amusing.
Punctuation ahead!
Are we including unintentionally off-color signs? Generations of young drivers have giggled that the I-75 exit 69 north of Detroit is Big Beaver Road.
We keep losing signs in Wisconsin. Not only do we have a Bong Rd., but the nice big wooden sign at the turnoff to the
Bong Recreational Area
needs to be replaced again.
I’m still waiting to witness Speed Enforced By Aircraft.
Here are some of the U.S. Federal standards for STOP and YIELD sign installations and usage, from the 2009 (latest) Edition of the “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways” (MUTCD)
Noteworthy: The standard equates the words “highway” and “street”.
Section 2B.04 Right-of-Way at Intersections
Support:
01 State or local laws written in accordance with the “Uniform Vehicle Code” (see Section 1A.11) establish
the right-of-way rule at intersections having no regulatory traffic control signs such that the driver of a vehicle
approaching an intersection must yield the right-of-way to any vehicle or pedestrian already in the intersection.
Page 50 2009 Edition
When two vehicles approach an intersection from different streets or highways at approximately the same time, the
right-of-way rule requires the driver of the vehicle on the left to yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.
The right-of-way can be modified at through streets or highways by placing YIELD (R1-2) signs (see Sections 2B.08
and 2B.09) or STOP (R1-1) signs (see Sections 2B.05 through 2B.07) on one or more approaches.
Guidance:
02 Engineering judgment should be used to establish intersection control. The following factors should be
considered:
A. Vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic volumes on all approaches;
B. Number and angle of approaches;
C. Approach speeds;
D. Sight distance available on each approach; and
E. Reported crash experience.
03 YIELD or STOP signs should be used at an intersection if one or more of the following conditions exist:
A. An 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;
B. A street entering a designated through highway or street; and/or
C. An unsignalized intersection in a signalized area.
04 In addition, the use of YIELD or STOP signs should be considered at the intersection of two minor streets
or local roads where the intersection has more than three approaches and where one or more of the following
conditions exist:
A. The combined vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian volume entering the intersection from all approaches
averages more than 2,000 units per day;
B. The ability to see conflicting traffic on an approach is not sufficient to allow a road user to stop or yield
in compliance with the normal right-of-way rule if such stopping or yielding is necessary; and/or
C. Crash records indicate that five or more crashes that involve the failure to yield the right-of-way at the
intersection under the normal right-of-way rule have been reported within a 3-year period, or that three
or more such crashes have been reported within a 2-year period.
05 YIELD or STOP signs should not be used for speed control.
Support:
06 Section 2B.07 contains provisions regarding the application of multi-way STOP control at an intersection.
Guidance:
07 Once the decision has been made to control an intersection, the decision regarding the appropriate roadway
to control should be based on engineering judgment. In most cases, the roadway carrying the lowest volume of
traffic should be controlled.
08 A YIELD or STOP sign should not be installed on the higher volume roadway unless justified by an
engineering study.
Support:
09 The following are considerations that might influence the decision regarding the appropriate roadway
upon which to install a YIELD or STOP sign where two roadways with relatively equal volumes and/or
characteristics intersect:
A. Controlling the direction that conflicts the most with established pedestrian crossing activity or school
walking routes;
B. Controlling the direction that has obscured vision, dips, or bumps that already require drivers to use lower
operating speeds; and
C. Controlling the direction that has the best sight distance from a controlled position to observe
conflicting traffic.
Standard:
10 Because the potential for conflicting commands could create driver confusion, YIELD or STOP signs
shall not be used in conjunction with any traffic control signal operation, except in the following cases:
A. If the signal indication for an approach is a flashing red at all times;
B. If a minor street or driveway is located within or adjacent to the area controlled by the traffic
control signal, but does not require separate traffic signal control because an extremely low
potential for conflict exists; or
C. If a channelized turn lane is separated from the adjacent travel lanes by an island and the
channelized turn lane is not controlled by a traffic control signal.
Sect. 2B.04 December 2009
2009 Edition Page 51
11 Except as provided in Section 2B.09, STOP signs and YIELD signs shall not be installed on different
approaches to the same unsignalized intersection if those approaches conflict with or oppose each other.
12 Portable or part-time STOP or YIELD signs shall not be used except for emergency and temporary
traffic control zone purposes.
13 A portable or part-time (folding) STOP sign that is manually placed into view and manually removed
from view shall not be used during a power outage to control a signalized approach unless the maintaining
agency establishes that the signal indication that will first be displayed to that approach upon restoration of
power is a flashing red signal indication and that the portable STOP sign will be manually removed from
view prior to stop-and-go operation of the traffic control signal.
Option:
14 A portable or part-time (folding) STOP sign that is electrically or mechanically operated such that it only
displays the STOP message during a power outage and ceases to display the STOP message upon restoration of
power may be used during a power outage to control a signalized approach.
Support:
15 Section 9B.03 contains provisions regarding the assignment of priority at a shared-use path/
roadway intersection.
Section 2B.05 STOP Sign (R1-1) and ALL WAY Plaque (R1-3P)
Standard:
01 When it is determined that a full stop is always required on an approach to an intersection, a STOP
(R1-1) sign (see Figure 2B-1) shall be used.
02 The STOP sign shall be an octagon with a white legend and border on a red background.
03 Secondary legends shall not be used on STOP sign faces.
04 At intersections where all approaches are controlled by STOP signs (see Section 2B.07), an ALL
WAY supplemental plaque (R1-3P) shall be mounted below each STOP sign. The ALL WAY plaque
(see Figure 2B-1) shall have a white legend and border on a red background.
05 The ALL WAY plaque shall only be used if all intersection approaches are controlled by STOP signs.
06 Supplemental plaques with legends such as 2-WAY, 3-WAY, 4-WAY, or other numbers of ways shall not
be used with STOP signs.
The yellow diamond warning signs that say “Dip” or “Bump” sometimes even with an arrow pointing to the area, are often either completely unnecessary, or tremendously obvious. I guess whoever/whatever maintains the road was tired of getting sued for car repairs.
But sometimes you’ll see a sign warning a bump ahead, and when you hit it, it feels like you’ve fallen off the edge of the earth. Your teeth clack together so hard, you’ll wonder about busted fillings! And you’ll usually say, “God DAMN, they weren’t kidding about that one!”
~VOW
Not far from me is the little town ofSlickville, PA. They have lost the battle to stop folks from stealing or painting over the “S” on various signs throughout the town.
I’m pretty sure these Exclamation Point Crossing Ahead signs were installed because of aggressive protests and lobbying from punctuation-mark rights advocates.
The punctuation-mark rights movement got a big boost from a previous successful campaign to install “Question Mark Crossing Ahead” signs where needed.
Statistical studies proved that the latter signs caused a significant drop in highway interrobangs.
Went into W Ontario once on a drive to Toronto.
Sign said “Sexton Side Road.”
Someone blotted out the ‘t’.
No, if you look carefully, the car has no driver. The sign actually means “self-driving cars about to receive a big surprise ahead”.
There are some other interesting ones on the main site (exit out of the picture that appears). P270-1 means, as far as I can tell, “purse snatcher ahead”. P270-3 means “kids playing ball will lose them down an open sewer”. P-270-5 means “blind men will fall down an open sewer”. Ontario has a sign similar to P-310 that looks like this. I always imagine it meant “we have no canned food here but mallets are available for $500”.
California tends to follow these standards here-and-there, except when not.
Four-way stops are inconsistently marked with that extra placard saying “4-WAY” or not at all. “ALL WAY” is used, sometimes, for three-way or other odd intersections. Maybe some places use “ALL WAY” for 4-way stops too.
We do have those signs “CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP” here-and-there. I think it would be nice if those were used more regularly.
We have a weird case near here, in the next city down the road. There’s a three-way “T” intersection, where the “main” road is the leg of the T and one side of the top of the T. The other side of the top of the T is a minor side-street. (Got that picture?)
The approach up the leg of the T has a STOP sign. The minor side-street has a stop sign. The approach along the other “main” side of the top of the T does NOT stop. So if you approach up the leg of the T, you stop, and traffic from your right stops but traffic from your left does NOT stop. And most but not all of those will turn right onto the leg of the T. (Okay, maybe you have to draw it out to see how it works.)
They REALLY REALLY need to put a sign there saying “TRAFFIC FROM THE LEFT DOES NOT STOP”. There is no other indication except that you just have to know the intersection. I’ve nearly gotten T-boned there from time to time.