The Partly Hidden Stop Sign at a T-Intersection
You are driving south on a two-lane county road in Indiana at 9:10 p.m. The road ends at a T-intersection with a five-lane road posted 45 mph. Your approach has a stop sign on the right, but overgrown branches hide most of the red face; you can see the octagonal shape only when you are about 40 feet away. There is no stop line and no marked crosswalk. A sidewalk runs along the near side of the cross road, and a curb ramp meets the pavement at the corner. Traffic on the cross road is steady, and a pair of headlights is approaching from your left. You want to turn right. Your passenger says the sign is probably for the other road and suggests rolling through the corner because visibility is poor.
1. Where should you stop, and does the partly hidden sign reduce your obligation to stop?
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The sign's poor visibility does not turn it into a yield sign. A stop sign remains a regulatory command even if branches obscure it; the driver is expected to recognize the octagon and to obey it. Because there is no painted stop line, the next reference point is the crosswalk or sidewalk area. Stop before the sidewalk so you do not block pedestrians, and in any event before the edge of the cross road. Do not stop out in the intersection to improve your view. After stopping, creep forward slowly until you can see far enough past the branches and parked or moving traffic. The passenger's suggestion is unsafe because a rolling stop gives you no reliable chance to check the cross road, and the approaching headlights show why that matters.
2. After stopping, what must you check before turning right, and may you turn if the cross-road signal is green for them?
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A stop sign controls your approach, not the cross road's traffic. After stopping, yield to vehicles on the cross road and to pedestrians using the sidewalk or curb ramp. Look left, then right, then left again because the closest threat is usually from the left. If the cross-road traffic has a green light, that reinforces that they have the right of way; you still must wait for a safe gap. A right turn after stopping is generally allowed unless a sign prohibits it, but the turn must be made from a position close to the right curb and must not force cross traffic to brake. Poor sight distance is a reason to wait longer, not a reason to accept a smaller gap.
3. What should you do if the branches completely hide the sign until you are alongside it?
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If you discover the stop sign too late to stop comfortably, do not slam on the brakes in a way that risks a rear-end crash, but do not accelerate through the intersection either. If you have already passed the sign, treat the situation as an emergency caused by obstructed visibility: stop as soon as it is safe, check traffic, and proceed only when the way is clear. On a later trip, report the obstructed sign to the local road authority. The legal duty is not excused by vegetation, but the practical lesson is to approach unfamiliar T-intersections at a speed that lets you identify signs and stop within the distance you can see.