asked the Minister for Local Government if he will take the necessary steps to ensure that the road traffic signs marked Stop be immediately replaced by signs marked Yield Right of Way.
46.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Road Traffic Signs.
45.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will explain the circumstances in which a person can be prosecuted for failing to comply with a traffic sign marked Stop.
47.
asked the Minister for Local Government if he will indicate the circumstances in which a person having complied with a traffic sign marked Stop may proceed on his journey.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 45, 46 and 47 together.
The traffic signs bearing the word "Stop" or the words "Yield Right of Way" indicate that the road which a person is about to enter is a major road. The General Bye-laws for the Control of Traffic, 1937 (Amendment) Bye-laws, 1956, require the driver of a vehicle approaching a junction at which a stop sign is provided on his left or near side of the road, to stop the vehicle at the stop line, where such a line is provided, or at or near the stop sign where no stop line is provided. The driver may proceed only when he has yielded the right of way to vehicles proceeding in either direction along the major road, in accordance with the provisions of the General Bye-laws for the Control of Traffic, 1937. If the driver of a vehicle fails to stop the vehicle at the stop line or at the sign, or if he fails to yield the right of way to vehicles on the major road, he is liable to be prosecuted.
It is a function of the road authority to provide traffic signs, either with the consent of or at the direction of the Garda Síochána. I have, after consultation with the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána, advised road authorities of the general principles they should follow in providing traffic signs. Regarding the Stop sign, I advised that it should be reserved for road junctions which are particularly dangerous, for example, where the entrance from a minor road to a major road is so obscured that a driver cannot infiltrate in safety; but it is for the road authority in consultation with the Garda to decide on the sign necessary at a particular site. If the Deputy considers that any particular Stop sign should be replaced by a Major Road Ahead sign, I suggest that he raise the matter in the first instance with the road authority concerned.
There is one ambiguity outstanding. I understand that where a Stop sign exists, you have a statutory duty to stop, whether any traffic is coming or not, whereas where there is a Yield Right of Way sign, you are intended to let any traffic on the main road pass before you enter the main road. Does the obligation to stop, independent of the existence of other traffic or not, still obtain or are we entitled to consider all Stop signs now as merely Yield Right of Way signs?
No. What the Deputy indicated as his meaning of the Stop sign is correct. As I said in the latter part of my reply, we have advised local authorities that the use of the Stop sign should be reserved for particularly dangerous junctions. Therefore, the type of thing to which the Deputy refers should not happen. The really dangerous situations should be marked by a Stop sign and the less dangerous ones by a Yield Right of Way sign.
It is perfectly clear then that the statutory obligation to stop still remains?
Yes, where there is a Stop sign.
Could the Minister indicate to the local authorities when it is permissible for a driver to go again? One could be prosecuted for causing obstruction. That is my point. I am not being facetious about this.
As the Deputy will appreciate, we cannot drive the cars for the people, but merely lay down the regulations. The person coming out of the minor road is the person in the dangerous position, and he must take all due care. If such a person gets into trouble, to a large extent the law will be on the side of the person who has the right-of-way.
You tell him to stop, but you do not advise him when he may go on again.
He has got to use his head.
What do the Fianna Fáil Party do then?
We do not use minor roads.
Only the straight and narrow!
It would be a good thing if you yielded the right-of-way, all the same.