ASSEMBLY, No. 2832

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MARCH 20, 1997

By Assemblyman AUGUSTINE

An Act concerning traffic control devices and amending R.S.39:4-115.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. R.S.39:4-115 is amended to read as follows:

    39:4-115. The driver of a vehicle or the motorman of a streetcar a. intending to turn to the right or left at an intersection where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals or by a traffic or police officer, shall proceed to make either turn with proper care to avoid accidents and, except as provided in b. below, only upon the "Go" signal unless otherwise directed by a traffic or police officer, an official sign or special signal; or b. intending to turn right at an intersection where traffic is controlled by a traffic control signal shall, unless an official sign of the State, municipality, or county authority having jurisdiction over the intersection prohibits the same, proceed to make the turn upon a "Stop" or "Caution" signal with proper care to avoid accidents after coming to a full stop, observing traffic in all directions and yielding to all pedestrians and other traffic traveling in a direction in which the turn will be made. Both the approach for and the turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway, unless such intersection is otherwise posted.

    An official sign of the State, or a municipality or county, which has jurisdiction over an intersection prohibiting the making of a right turn on red at a "Stop" signal, shall be installed on the mast which is connected to the pole of an official traffic control device where such type of device exists. In the case of a traffic control device which does not have a mast, such sign shall be installed on the pole of the traffic control device closest to the intersection.

(cf: P.L.1976, c.46, s.1)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the installation of "No Turn On Red" signs, whether new or for replacement purposes, on or after the effective date of this act.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires that where an official sign of the State, or a municipality or county, having jurisdiction over an intersection prohibits a motorist from making a right turn on red at a "Stop" signal, the "No Turn On Red" sign shall be installed on the mast which is connected to the pole of a traffic control device where such type of device exists. In the case of a traffic control device which does not have a mast, the sign would be required to be installed on the pole of the traffic control device closest to the intersection. The bill would only apply to those new or replacement signs installed on or after the effective date of the bill.

    The bill is intended to assist a motorist in better recognizing a "No Turn On Red" sign prior to the point at which the vehicle is in close proximity to the intersection where an aforementioned sign is placed. The U.S. Department of Transportation's "Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways" recommends that a "No Turn On Red" sign should be installed near the head of the appropriate traffic control signal.

Requires certain "No Turn on Red" signs be installed on the mast of certain traffic control devices.