OK – I’ll admit it. I’m paying more attention to traffic signs, signals, and “what is the purpose of” on the road these days because I have a child in drivers ed now. So……….for those of you that are reading this and live close by, have you thought about the purpose of the actual traffic signal/yield/white stripes combo at University and Hwy 59? Specifically the traffic signal on the post on the little median when you are turning into Telfair. For those of you that DO NOT live close by – let me set the stage. Hwy 59 is a major Houston freeway, and can get relatively congested. When driving south on 59, and exiting the freeway at University Drive, you enter a good, old fashioned, one-way feeder road with 5 lanes. People FLY down this feeder – and I mean FLY! The first intersection you descend upon is University Drive – turn right, and you are in Telfair. Now this all sounds simple, but it’s not. If you are not careful, you’ll either get popped from behind or rear-end someone VERY EASILY. And you’ll be calling your auto insurance agent.
This intersection has normal signals hanging over the intersection in a normal position. It’s this right turn……….It’s one of those right turns with it’s own little “driveway” – one with curbs and a median in between the right turn and the main intersection (it’s illegal to turn right at the intersection btw – it’s marked). Immediately to the left of this “right turn” is a median with a full blown stop light. It has a red light, yellow light, green light AND a green turn signal. Here comes the confusion. The markings on the street include the white stripe that normally means “stop here.” It also has a strip of white triangles about 1 foot away from the solid white line. Okay…..here’s the kicker. There’s also a Yield sign which in some countries must mean STOP HERE. And a traffic signal? Huh?
There is NO WAY the traffic light on the median is for the main intersection because it’s too far away. If it IS for the intersection, someone wasn’t paying attention to it’s placement. If you start into this little “right turn pathway” you can no longer see the light AND you have to really really really look over your shoulder to see if anyone is coming. So what are you supposed to do? Stop and look for traffic, Yield and look for traffic…….pick a white line to do SOMETHING AT……….we see so many traffic accidents there, that auto insurance agents really should be advertising there. Seriously.
General consensus? Red light means stop – I get it. Yellow light – be careful – I get it. OK – I’m an Aggie, and yes I get the concept of the green light. It’s the red light/yield sign/green arrow thing……….in my opinion, yield means yield, not stop. If there is no traffic approaching, and someone stops (not yields) and you pop them from behind, shouldn’t it be their fault for stopping rather than yielding?
Signed………..Confused Driver.
