ROCHESTER, N.Y. — As New York state is slammed with one storm after another, it’s made for some tricky and often unsafe driving conditions.
Now the state Department of Transportation and the State Police are urging people to keep watch for intersections left without working signals due to loss of power.
When traffic signals are not working, it’s called "dark signals."
But because of the summer of storms, authorities are trying to get the word out about white-knuckling it through these dark signal intersections when the power goes down, saying it’s a critical safety concern.
“At a dark signal, all directions must stop,” said Chris Reeve, state DOT regional director out of Rochester.
Maneuvering through a storm on the roadways can be challenging enough, but coming upon an intersection where the traffic signals are not working adds another level of potential danger. The DOT and State Police say approach it cautiously and stop.
“During these outages when they encounter a dark signal, they must stop before proceeding, just like you would for a four-way stop,” said Reeve during a news conference.
He was joined by State Police Troop E Public Information Officer Trooper Lynnea Crane.
“It is essential to use extreme caution when entering an intersection where the signal is dark," Crane said. "An inoperative traffic light creates a hazardous and potentially fatal situation. Stopping ensures that all drivers approach the intersection cautiously reducing the risk of collisions.”
The DOT says the New York State Public Service Commission reports that on any given day about 185 power outages occur across the state with a little more than 20% of all outages resulting from storms.
And according to the DOT’s crash data, there have about 250 property damage or injury crashes each year for the past three years with the contributing factor being a malfunctioning signal system. Most of these crashes occurred when the signal was dark.
“Always enter the intersection cautiously. Some people don’t know that it’s an always-stop. That’s why we’re here today right, the education portion of it. We want to make sure the public knows if the light is out, you need to treat it as an always-stop,” said Trooper Crane, offering a refresher on how that works. “As you come to the intersection, it’s basically a first come first serve. Some people don’t know that or they might not be familiar with the area, they don’t even know that this is an intersection and they come breezing through. The best thing to do is stop, look both ways, look both ways again. Be very cautious again in this type of condition.”
They gathered to not only educate, but to issue a warning.
“When you disregard the rules related to the out-of-service or dark signals you are breaking the law in New York state,” said Reeve.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that when this occurs, all motorists must stop at the intersection for an always stop. It’s the law and you can be ticketed for that. In case of a collision, failure to stop at a dark light can be considered negligence making the driver liable for the damages,” said Crane.
Authorities also ask people to call 911 if they come across a dark signal and report it, to keep an eye out for DOT or utility workers who may be at that intersection working to repair the signal, and to avoid driving in stormy conditions if possible.