Traffic Signal Malfunction Claims in Georgia

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When a crash follows a traffic signal that showed the wrong indication, flashed, or could not be seen, a Georgia claim depends on what the Code tells a driver each indication means, what happens when a device is out of position or illegible, and which public body placed and maintained the signal and holds the records of how it was working. Each answer sits in a different part of the Code.

What Each Indication Requires

Steady indications carry fixed meanings. Traffic facing a steady circular yellow “is thereby warned that the related green movement is being terminated or that a red indication will be exhibited immediately thereafter when vehicular traffic shall not enter the intersection,” and traffic facing a steady circular red “shall stop at a clearly marked stop line” or, without one, before the crosswalk or the intersection, “and shall remain standing until an indication to proceed is shown,” subject to the right and left turns the statute allows after a stop (OCGA 40-6-21(a)(2)(A), (a)(3)(A)).

A signal in flashing mode changes the rule. At a flashing circular red, drivers “shall stop” at a marked stop line, before the crosswalk if there is no line, or, with neither, at the nearest point with a view of approaching traffic, “and the right to proceed shall be subject to the rules applicable after making a stop at a stop sign”; at a flashing circular yellow, drivers “may proceed through the intersection or past such signal only with caution” (OCGA 40-6-23(1), (2)).

For example, imagine a signal that has gone to flashing red in one direction and flashing yellow in the other. A driver facing the red must stop and then proceed under the stop-sign rules, while a driver facing the yellow may go on through only with caution, so the two drivers do not carry the same duty at the moment of a collision.

When a Device Is Out of Position or Illegible

OCGA 40-6-20(a) provides that “[t]he driver of any vehicle shall obey the instructions of an official traffic-control device applicable thereto, placed in accordance with this chapter, unless otherwise directed by a police officer,” subject to the exceptions the chapter gives drivers of authorized emergency vehicles. Subsection (b) limits enforcement: “No provisions of this chapter which require official traffic-control devices shall be enforced against an alleged violator if at the time and place of the alleged violation an official device was not in proper position and sufficiently legible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person.” Two presumptions follow: a device placed in position approximately conforming to the chapter “shall be presumed to have been so placed by the official act or direction of lawful authority, unless the contrary shall be established by competent evidence” (subsection (c)), and a device purporting to conform to the lawful requirements “shall be presumed to comply with the requirements of this chapter, unless the contrary shall be established by competent evidence” (subsection (d)). Disregard of a device’s instructions “shall be deemed prima-facie evidence of a violation of law” (subsection (e)).

Who Placed the Signal and Who Holds the Records

The Department of Transportation places and maintains traffic-control devices on the state highway system, and counties and cities do so on their own road systems (OCGA 32-6-50(b), (c)(1)). A claim against any of them runs through that body’s own immunity and notice statutes, with ante litem periods of 12 months for the State, counted from when the loss was or should have been discovered, 12 months for a county after the claim accrues (a minor or other person under a disability has 12 months from the end of the disability), and six months for a city from the event (OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1); OCGA 36-11-1; OCGA 36-33-5(b)).

Signal records held by those bodies are public records. “All public records shall be open for personal inspection and copying, except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are specifically exempted from disclosure” (OCGA 50-18-71(a)(1)). An agency must produce responsive records “within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of receipt of a request,” and where records exist but are not available in that time, it must give “a description of such records and a timeline for when the records will be available for inspection or copying” (OCGA 50-18-71(b)(1)(A)).

Frequently Asked Questions

May a driver turn right on a steady red?
After stopping, yes, unless a sign prohibits the turn, and the driver “shall stop and remain stopped for pedestrians and yield the right of way to other traffic proceeding as directed by the signal at such intersection” (OCGA 40-6-21(a)(3)(C)).

What does a flashing yellow arrow allow?
Traffic facing it “may proceed in the direction of the arrow,” but turning traffic “shall yield the right of way to approaching vehicles” and must stop for a pedestrian lawfully crossing within a crosswalk who is on its half of the roadway or within one lane of it (OCGA 40-6-21(a)(2)(C)).

Where must a driver stop for a signal that is not at an intersection?
“Any stop required shall be made at a sign or marking on the pavement indicating where the stop shall be made, but, in the absence of any such sign or marking, the stop shall be made at the signal” (OCGA 40-6-21(b)).

Must a records request be in writing?
No. “A request made pursuant to this article may be made to the custodian of a public record orally or in writing,” and at the time of inspection any person may make photographic or other electronic copies with portable devices (OCGA 50-18-71(b)(1)(B)).

Must an agency create records that do not exist?
No. The statute does not “require agencies to produce records in response to a request if such records did not exist at the time of the request” (OCGA 50-18-71(b)(1)(A)).

  • OCGA 40-6-21(a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(C), (a)(3)(A), (a)(3)(C), (b); OCGA 40-6-23
  • OCGA 40-6-20(a)-(e)
  • OCGA 32-6-50(b), (c)(1); OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1); OCGA 36-11-1; OCGA 36-33-5(b)
  • OCGA 50-18-71(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about traffic signal malfunction claims under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Which public body is responsible, and which notice period applies, depend on the location of the signal and the specific facts. A person injured at a malfunctioning signal should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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