Dangerous Intersection Design Claims in Georgia

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A claim that a Georgia intersection was designed dangerously meets a set of immunity and notice statutes before it reaches the question of fault. The State keeps its immunity for road designs prepared in substantial compliance with the engineering standards of their day and for discretionary decisions. A city’s liability turns on its own negligence and notice of the defect, and on the kind of power it was exercising. A county answers only where a statute makes it answer. Signals, signs, and markings add a separate layer of regulation that applies to every road authority.

The State: Design and Discretion

The Tort Claims Act keeps the State’s immunity for losses resulting from the exercise of a discretionary function, whether or not the discretion was abused, and for losses resulting from the plan or design of highways, roads, streets, bridges, or other public works prepared in substantial compliance with the engineering or design standards generally accepted when the plan was prepared (OCGA 50-21-24(2), (10)). A discretionary function is one that calls for a state officer or employee to use policy judgment in choosing among alternative courses of action on the basis of social, political, or economic factors (OCGA 50-21-22(2)).

Two features of the design exception shape an intersection claim. It protects a plan or design only if the plan was prepared in substantial compliance with accepted standards, and it measures those standards as of the time the plan was prepared, not the time of the crash. A claim against the State also requires written notice within 12 months of when the loss was or should have been discovered, and suit within two years (OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1); OCGA 50-21-27(c)).

Cities and Counties

A city is relieved of liability for defects in its own streets when it was not negligent in building or maintaining them, or when it had no actual notice of the defect, or when the defect had not existed long enough for notice to be inferred (OCGA 32-4-93(a)). A city is not liable for its legislative or judicial acts or failures to act, but it is liable for neglect or improper performance of its ministerial duties (OCGA 36-33-1(b)). A claim against a city must be presented within six months of the event (OCGA 36-33-5(b)).

A county is liable to suit only where a statute makes it so (OCGA 36-1-4), and claims against a county must be presented within 12 months after they accrue, or, for a minor or another person under a disability, within 12 months after the disability is removed (OCGA 36-11-1).

Signals, Signs, and Markings

The Department of Transportation “shall promulgate uniform regulations governing the erection and maintenance on the public roads of Georgia of signs, signals, markings, or other traffic-control devices,” and “[i]nsofar as practical,” those regulations conform to the recommendations of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (OCGA 32-6-50(a)). The Department places and maintains devices on the state highway system “as it shall deem necessary to regulate, warn, or guide traffic” (OCGA 32-6-50(b)), and counties and cities “shall place and maintain upon the public roads of their respective public road systems such traffic-control devices as are necessary to regulate, warn, or guide traffic” (OCGA 32-6-50(c)(1)).

At the federal level, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices approved by the Federal Highway Administrator “is the national standard for all traffic control devices installed on any street, highway, or bicycle trail open to public travel” (23 CFR 655.603(a)).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the federal manual reach a road inside a shopping center?
For purposes of the manual, “open to public travel includes toll roads and roads within shopping centers, airports, sports arenas, and other similar business and/or recreation facilities that are privately owned but where the public is allowed to travel without access restrictions,” while “[p]arking areas, driving aisles within parking areas, and private highway-rail grade crossings are also not included” (23 CFR 655.603(a)).

Can a state use its own traffic manual?
Where a State manual or supplement is required, it “shall be in substantial conformance with the national MUTCD,” which means at a minimum conforming to the national manual’s Standard statements (23 CFR 655.603(b)(1)).

How quickly must a state adopt changes to the national manual?
States “shall adopt changes issued by the FHWA to the National MUTCD within two years from the effective date of the final rule” (23 CFR 655.603(b)(3)).

Is it unlawful to damage a traffic sign or signal?
“It shall be unlawful for any person to remove, deface, or damage in any way any official traffic-control device lawfully erected or maintained pursuant to this Code section or any other law” (OCGA 32-6-50(d)).

  • OCGA 50-21-22(2); OCGA 50-21-24(2), (10); OCGA 50-21-26(a)(1); OCGA 50-21-27(c)
  • OCGA 32-4-93(a); OCGA 36-33-1(b); OCGA 36-33-5(b)
  • OCGA 36-1-4; OCGA 36-11-1
  • OCGA 32-6-50(a), (b), (c)(1), (d); 23 CFR 655.603(a), (b)(1), (b)(3)

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about claims arising from intersection design under Georgia law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a design falls within an exclusion, and which notice period applies, depend on the identity of the road authority and the specific facts. A person injured at an intersection should consult a licensed Georgia attorney promptly about the particular situation.

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