When traffic signals take the night off
Posted on July 16th, 2008 – 6:05 AMBy Roadguy
Friday night’s storm seemed to have moved on: The revelers at the Basilica Block Party were emerging from the transportation infrastructure that had sheltered them from lightning (they’d gathered in a parking garage and under I-94), and the sun, previously blotted out by inky clouds, was making a quick reappearance just before setting. For a few hours, wild weather had rattled Minnesota, but the worst had passed, and it seemed relatively safe for Roadguy to head out and grab a late dinner.
The first bit of driving excitement was an unexpected moment of hydroplaning along W. Lake Street, where water had pooled along the curb. The puddles and the pavement looked exactly the same — shiny black — so I moved over a lane and continued on my way.
The second, bigger excitement started on the western edge of Lake Calhoun: power failure. In other words, no functioning stoplights on a stretch of road with multiple intersections and a 35-mile-per-hour speed limit. Eyeing the first set of defunct signals through my wet windshield, I eased off the gas and into a feeling of doom.
But as has been suggested here before, the trappings of civilization may not be the key to discouraging uncivil behavior. With the traffic lights out, chaos did not ensue; instead, the instincts of self-preservation kicked in. Every car, from every direction, stopped or nearly stopped at all the intersections I went through. There were awkward pauses and moments of confusion as to whose turn was next — understandable when there are eight lanes of traffic at what had suddenly become an unmarked four-way stop. But overall, it was a painless drive — everyone was on good behavior.
Obviously we’re a long, long way from just being able to turn off the traffic lights, but I was reminded of the ideas behind the shared-space movement (click here for a previously mentioned Washington Post story) and the fact that more law-abiding pedestrians than jaywalkers are killed each year in New York City (a factoid from the author of this blog and reinforced by my experience here). Taking a superdefensive approach to self-transport definitely has its upside.
If you have a tale about storm-crossed stoplights or fresh thoughts on whether less can be more in the world of traffic regulation, please share below.
13 Responses to "When traffic signals take the night off"
A bit confused here, Roadguy. Is this picture a photographic version of a Roarshach test? What is it I’m supposed to be seeing?
There have been instances where I believe traffic has moved along faster when the stoplights go out, and the intersection turns into a four-way stop.
Glad to see a story on the internet about the good side of humanity, especially after yesterday’s unsettling thread. Peace.
I remember driving home from work on 9/11/2001. Best behaved drivers I have ever seen; before or since. Acute awareness of your fellow man and the human-ness of us all does seem to have a calming effect on traffic.
I can’t be so positive about the Parkway last night between Chicago and the Falls when the power was out for a few hours.
Cedar was behaved because it was busy, but as for the other intersections, people treated it like a race track. I saw several cars noticing cross traffic coming and then gunning it to get across the intersection first rather than stopping.
Generally people are pretty cool when there is a temporary disruption of the normal system of traffic lights. Most everybody plays nice and things run surprisingly smoothly. It’s when the light has been out of order for a day or more that you have to watch out, because by then people are use to it and start reverting to type. Then you get some people still following the rules, while others do whatever they can get away with.
In fairness, the “rules” for a dark stop light are not that it becomes a four-way stop (unless it’s flashing red). It actually becomes an uncontrolled intersection, which means yield-to-the-right. When traffic is heavy, this usually means everyone has to stop anyway just to sort it all out. But if you arrive first and there’s no cross traffic, you’re not required to stop at a dark signal. But be prepared to just in case.
And of course, if there’s a pedestrian or a bicyclist within in the crosswalk at an intersection where the signal is without power, you *would* be legally required to stop for the pedestrian.
Figured I’d better add that before Matty or someone calls me out on it 
Actually Joe G, that’s incorrect. I’m looking at a current Minnesota driver’s manual right now. Page 55. “If a traffic signal is not functioning, come to a complete stop and then proceed as you would at an intersection with a four way stop.”
The more you know…
Interesting, I’ll confess that I didn’t know that was in the current driver’s manual. But, there’s no statute that addresses dark signals in section 169.06 (traffic signal regulations). https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=169.06
Unless there’s something elsewhere in the statutes, but why would it be anywhere else?
I wonder if the driver’s manual authors were considering the all-red flash to be “not functioning”?
Heard the lights at 494/169 were out after a storm last week. Bet that was a treat for commuters. Good thing we still have that half-a$$ed interchange there instead of a full clover leaf or a (gasp!) stack.
Twice now I have come to the controlled intersection of 169 and that light that is just South of 494, when the stoplights are out. In the early morning rush, northbound/southbound traffic was driving through that light like it never existed at all. Some drivers were stopping to give cross traffic time to cross, but most drivers were not. In order to cross to get from Bloomington into Eden Prairie, I’ve had to lay on my horn just to be able to cross that intersection. Once I laid on the horn, drivers did hear and stopped, but I didn’t think I was ever going to be able to cross.
I’ve been through that intersection just south of 494/169 many times when it wasn’t working, and I’ve always seen people taking turns.
It is an inkblot test. If you see a stoplight your a roadgeek. If you see something else, say a dumbell, you’re not.
