LOUISIANA LIABLE FOR FAILURE TO POST 90-DEGREE TURN SIGN ON RURAL HIGHWAY

The Supreme Court of Louisiana recently upheld a Court of Appeal judgment which found the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development 60% negligent for a driver's injury when he failed to negotiate a 90-degree left turn on a rural highway. The state was found negligent for not posting a sign to warn drivers of the turn in the highway. The area of the 90-degree curve was unlighted. There were no white stripes on the edge of the roadway; there were no reflectors in the center line, and the hellow stripes were so faded that they could hardly be seen, even in daylight; and the roadway made a sudden trun to the left, with a similar blacktop highway continuing straight ahead. The only advance warning of the left-turning curve on LA 95 was a white arrow below a green route marker about 480 feet before the turn. The route marker and arrow were obscured by overhanging branches that, according to a horticulturist, had obscured the signs for three to four months before the accident. The investigating officer confirmed that, although he smelled a slight odor of alcohol, the driver was not intoxicated. (Ledbetter v. State Dept. of Transp. & Dev. 86-C-0423 (503 So.2d 1383 La. 1987))

• Availability:
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• Corporate Authors:

  TranSafety, Incorporated

  5811 Oak Leather Drive
  Burke, VA  United States  22015
• Publication Date: 1990-1

Media Info

• Pagination: p. 1-2
• Serial:
  • TRANSAFETY REPORTER
  • Volume: 8
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: TranSafety, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0884-612X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crashes; Injuries; Legal action; Liability; Negligence; Rural highways; State departments of transportation; Traffic control
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I73: Traffic Control; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00491282
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 28 1990 12:00AM