John Mark Teague, J M Teague Engineering - Comments

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. I am the owner of a traffic engineering firm. One of our focus areas is helping smaller communities with MUTCD compliance issues and traffic safety concerns. It has been my experience almost without exception, to find regulatory signs completely faded, and in some cases stop signs being nothing but a white metal octagon with no color or lettering visible. The usual comment we get from local governments is of the nature "I guess that sign might need replacing - we will get to it one day". In other words, I have found many local governments very reluctant to make good signing decisions and take action unless forced to by rules or regulations. Just last week I discovered a stop sign - still in place as a traffic control device - dated as 1977 for the install date. We also find MUTCD violations such as the use of wrong warning signs, inadequate RR crossing markings, too small sign lettering, and sign height violations. I urge you to re-consider the deadline for sign replacement due to inadequate reflectivity - especially regulatory signs. I realize there are many economic concerns surrounding local governments and their ability to fund widespread sign replacements. However, the liability of a vehicle crash and resulting lawsuit far outweigh the monetary cost of sign replacements. Keep in mind, the liability for an inadequate road sign still exists for local governments with or without FHWA deadline requirements. The deadlines simply ensure local governments take action - otherwise the white stop signs will continue to appear in towns all across the United States. I will be glad to provide pictures and data surrounding my findings on local governments and their current sign conditions.