A REVIEW OF RESEARCH RELATED TO THE SAFETY OF STOP VERSUS YIELD SIGN TRAFFIC CONTROL

Since the 1920's, the STOP sign has been used for traffic control at many intersections where signals were not justified but traffic volumes and sight distances indicated the need for some kind of priority control. In 1951 the YIELD sign was introduced in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but still the STOP sign is used more frequently than the YIELD sign. Already well known is that replacing STOP signs with YIELD signs, where appropriate, can substantially reduce energy consumption, traffic delay, and air pollution. However, the consensus of the available, but limited, safety research does not clearly indicate the change in accident experience when replacing a STOP sign with a YIELD sign. The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices has proposed a comprehensive nationwide study of the safety effects of replacing STOP signs with YIELD signs. If no significant change and/or increase in accidents exists, replacing appropriate STOP signs with YIELD signs could be justified from a safety point of view, encouraging traffic engineers and administrators to promote wider use of the more cost-effective YIELD sign. To provide background information in support of a nationwide study, this article reviews the accident experience since the YIELD sign was introduced.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Research and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Rosenbaum, M J
• Publication Date: 1983-12

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 77-83
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 47
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air pollution; Fuel consumption; Intersections; Stop signs; Traffic crashes; Traffic delays; Traffic safety; Traffic signs; Yield signs
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00389068
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-036 615
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 28 1984 12:00AM