Article 1. Erection And Maintenance of California Vehicle Code >> Division 11. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.

The Department of Transportation shall place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, with respect to highways under its jurisdiction, appropriate signs, signals, and other traffic control devices as required hereunder, and may place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, such appropriate signs, signals, or other traffic control devices as may be authorized hereunder, or as may be necessary properly to indicate and to carry out the provisions of this code, or to warn or guide traffic upon the highways. The Department of Transportation may, with the consent of the local authorities, also place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, in or along city streets and county roads, appropriate signs, signals, and other traffic control devices, or may perform, or cause to be performed, such other work on city streets and county roads, as may be necessary or desirable to control, or direct traffic, or to facilitate traffic flow, to or from or on state highways.

Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions shall place and maintain or cause to be placed and maintained such traffic signs, signals and other traffic control devices upon streets and highways as required hereunder, and may place and maintain or cause to be placed and maintained, such appropriate signs, signals or other traffic control devices as may be authorized hereunder or as may be necessary properly to indicate and to carry out the provisions of this code or local traffic ordinances or to warn or guide traffic.

Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, speed limit, speed advisory, and mileage signs, or suitable plates affixed to or near existing signs, which indicate speeds and distances both in common standards of measures, as specified in Section 12302 of the Business and Professions Code, and in measures of the metric system authorized by Congress.

The Department of Transportation or local authorities, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, may erect stop signs to require the traffic on a highway to stop before crossing any railroad grade crossing designated by the agency having jurisdiction of the highway as a major crossing with a demonstrated need for stop signs, except a railroad grade crossing which is controlled by automatic signals, gates, or other train-actuated control devices.

Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, appropriate signs along city streets or county roads which indicate that a deaf child is near.

The Department of Transportation may erect stop signs at any entrance to any state highway and whenever the department determines that it is necessary for the public safety and the orderly and efficient use of the highways by the public, the department may erect and maintain, or cause to be erected and maintained, on any state highway any traffic control signal or any official traffic control device regulating or prohibiting the turning of vehicles upon the highway, allocating or restricting the use of specified lanes or portions of the highway by moving vehicular traffic, establishing crosswalks at or between intersections, or restricting use of the right-of-way by the public for other than highway purposes.

No local authority, except by permission of the Department of Transportation, shall erect or maintain any stop sign or traffic control signal in such manner as to require the traffic on any state highway to stop before entering or crossing any intersecting highway or any railroad grade crossing.

Subject to the provisions of Section 21353, a local authority may designate any highway under its jurisdiction as a through highway and may erect stop signs at entrances thereto or may designate any intersection under its exclusive jurisdiction as a stop intersection and erect stop signs at one or more entrances thereto.

(a) Stop signs erected under Section 21350, 21351, 21352, or 21354 may be erected either at or near the entrance to an intersection. The Department of Transportation and local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may erect stop signs at any location so as to control traffic within an intersection. When a required stop is to apply at the entrance to an intersection from a one-way street with a roadway of 30 feet or more in width, stop signs shall be erected both on the left and the right sides of the one-way street at or near the entrance to the intersection. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, stop signs shall not be erected at any entrance to an intersection controlled by official traffic control signals, nor at any railroad grade crossing which is controlled by automatic signals, gates, or other train-actuated control devices except where a stop sign may be necessary to control traffic on intersecting highways adjacent to the grade crossing or when a local authority determines, with the approval of the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Section 21110, that a railroad grade crossing under its jurisdiction presents a danger warranting a stop sign in addition to a train-activated control device.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), local authorities, with respect to streets under their jurisdiction, are not required to conform lawfully established intersection configurations existing on January 1, 1985, to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) until January 1, 1990.

The Department of Transportation or local authorities, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, may erect yield right-of-way signs at the entrances to intersections or highways. Such yield right-of-way signs shall not be erected upon the approaches to more than one of the intersecting streets. Yield right-of-way signs shall be located at or near the entrance to the intersection or highway where motorists are required to yield the right-of-way.

Local authorities may place signs, mirrors, or other visual or audible devices at exits from alleys that are under their jurisdiction to warn drivers to watch for pedestrians and bicyclists on the sidewalk prior to exiting the alley.

Speed restriction signs may, but need not, be erected upon any highway other than a state highway at the entrance thereof into a business or residence district unless required in this chapter.

Where one or more business and residence districts are contiguous, or where, as authorized by this code, speed is to be restricted between two districts, either business or residence, or at the end of either thereof, speed restriction signs affecting traffic on other than state highways as required by Sections 21357 and 21359 need be erected and maintained only at the boundaries of the outside limits of the area in which speed is to be restricted.

Whenever the Department of Transportation or a local authority as authorized by this code determines and declares a speed limit different from the limit otherwise applicable under Sections 22349 and 22352, appropriate speed restriction signs shall be erected and maintained at the outside entrance of the highway or portion thereof upon which the special speed limit is applicable. The special speed limit is not effective until appropriate signs have been erected.

Local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may, within the reasonable exercise of their police power and subject to Section 21353, place and maintain official traffic control devices to regulate traffic at the intersection of a highway and a private road or driveway. Official traffic control devices may be erected at or near such intersection, except no such device shall be erected upon a private road or driveway without consent of the owner thereof. When official traffic control devices are installed and in operation, the private road or driveway shall be deemed a highway only for the purpose of determining the existence and location of an intersection.

(a) When the outermost boundaries of two or more intersections are confined within a distance of 200 feet, the Department of Transportation in respect to state highways, and a local authority with respect to highways under its jurisdiction, shall have the power to designate a single intersection by the installation and operation of traffic signals which may be supplemented by signs or markings. When so designated, the single intersection shall be the legal intersection for the purposes of traffic movement and regulation.
  (b) Whenever a single intersection has been designated by the Department of Transportation or by local authorities as set forth in subdivision (a), the department or such authorities may designate marked crosswalks at certain locations within the intersection or contiguous thereto, and when the marked crosswalks are established, they shall constitute the only crosswalks at the intersection. The department or the local authorities shall erect signs prohibiting pedestrian crossing at locations which, except for the provisions of this section, would constitute unmarked crosswalks.

Railroad warning approach signs shall be erected by local authorities upon the right-hand side of each approach of every highway under their jurisdiction to a grade crossing of a railroad or electric interurban railway at a reasonable distance from the crossing.

(a) Railroad and rail transit grade crossings may be equipped with an automated rail crossing enforcement system if the system is identified by signs clearly indicating the system's presence and visible to traffic approaching from each direction. Only a governmental agency, in cooperation with a law enforcement agency, may operate an automated rail crossing enforcement system.
  (b) Notwithstanding Section 6253 of the Government Code, or any other provision of law, photographic records made by an automated rail crossing enforcement system shall be confidential, and shall be made available only to governmental agencies and law enforcement agencies for the purposes of this section.

Detour signs shall be erected at the nearest points of detour from that portion of a highway, or from any bridge, which is closed to traffic while under construction or repair.

The Department of Transportation may authorize an owner of land adjacent to a state highway to erect and maintain signs to indicate the existence of those places where livestock regularly and frequently cross a state highway, and any sign so erected and maintained shall be an official sign. The department shall prescribe the size, shape and character of the signs, which shall be uniform.

The Department of Transportation, with respect to state highways in open range country, and the board of supervisors of each county, with respect to county highways under its jurisdiction, may place and maintain appropriate signs indicating that the territory traversed is open livestock range and warning against the danger of livestock on the highway.

At each signal-controlled intersection on streets and highways, there shall be a street name sign clearly visible to traffic approaching from all directions. The cost of erecting and maintaining the street name signs may be paid out of funds derived from the Highway Users Tax Fund or the Motor Vehicle License Fee Fund.

(a) As provided in Section 125 of the Streets and Highways Code and in Section 21100 of this code, respectively, the duly authorized representative of the Department of Transportation or local authorities, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, persons contracting to perform construction, maintenance, or repair of a highway, may, with the approval of the department or local authority, as the case may be, and while engaged in the performance of that work, restrict the use of, and regulate the movement of traffic through or around, the affected area whenever the traffic would endanger the safety of workers or the work would interfere with or endanger the movement of traffic through the area. Traffic may be regulated by warning signs, lights, appropriate control devices, or by a person or persons controlling and directing the flow of traffic.
  (b) It is unlawful to disobey the instructions of a person controlling and directing traffic pursuant to subdivision (a).
  (c) It is unlawful to fail to comply with the directions of warning signs, lights, or other control devices provided for the regulation of traffic pursuant to subdivision (a).

Whenever a marked pedestrian crosswalk has been established in a roadway contiguous to a school building or the grounds thereof, it shall be painted or marked in yellow as shall be all the marked pedestrian crosswalks at an intersection in case any one of the crosswalks is required to be marked in yellow. Other established marked pedestrian crosswalks may be painted or marked in yellow if either (a) the nearest point of the crosswalk is not more than 600 feet from a school building or the grounds thereof, or (b) the nearest point of the crosswalk is not more than 2,800 feet from a school building or the grounds thereof, there are no intervening crosswalks other than those contiguous to the school grounds, and it appears that the facts and circumstances require special painting or marking of the crosswalks for the protection and safety of persons attending the school. There shall be painted or marked in yellow on each side of the street in the lane or lanes leading to all yellow marked crosswalks the following words, "SLOW--SCHOOL XING," except that such words shall not be painted or marked in any lane leading to a crosswalk at an intersection controlled by stop signs, traffic signals, or yield right-of-way signs. A crosswalk shall not be painted or marked yellow at any location other than as required or permitted in this section.

All speed restriction signs in place on January 1, 1960, are hereby ratified and confirmed and shall establish the applicable prima facie speed limit unless and until changed pursuant to engineering and traffic surveys provided for by this code.

The Department of Transportation, or its duly authorized representatives with the approval of the department, while engaged in the construction of a state highway upon new alignment may restrict the use of and regulate the movement of traffic upon any highway intersecting the project at or near the place of intersection whenever such work interferes with or endangers the safe movement of traffic through the work.

The Department of Transportation and local authorities shall, with respect to highways under their respective jurisdictions, establish and promulgate warrants to be used as guidelines for the placement of traffic control devices near schools for the purpose of protecting students going to and from school. Such devices may include flashing signals. Such warrants shall be based upon, but need not be limited to, the following items: pedestrian volumes, vehicle volumes, width of the roadway, physical terrain, speed of vehicle traffic, horizontal and vertical alignment of the roadway, the distance to existing traffic control devices, proximity to the school, and the degree of urban or rural environment of the area.

The governing board of any school district may request the appropriate city, county, city and county or state agency to install traffic control devices in accordance with the warrants established pursuant to Section 21372. Within 90 days thereafter, the city, county, city and county or state agency involved shall undertake an engineering and traffic survey to determine whether the requested crossing protection meets the warrants established pursuant to Section 21372. The city, county, city and county, or state agency involved may require the requesting school district to pay an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the cost of the survey. If it is determined that such requested protection is warranted, it shall be installed by the city, county, city and county or state agency involved.

A local authority may mark or paint the surface of any street or highway under its jurisdiction, or of any state highway, with the approval of the Department of Transportation, with lines, arrows, or other suitable symbols for the purpose of directing visitors and tourists to local points of interest. No such marking shall be of a color or configuration which, as determined by the Department of Transportation, would cause it to be confused with an official traffic control device.

(a) The Department of Transportation shall place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, directional signs on freeways indicating the location of the freeway off ramp which may be used to reach a public or private postsecondary education institution having an enrollment of either 1,000 or more full-time students or the equivalent in part-time students, at the request of the institution. No signs shall be erected pursuant to this subdivision until the department has received donations from private sources covering the costs of erecting the signs.
  (b) The Department of Transportation shall place and maintain, or cause to be placed and maintained, freeway directional signs for any institution described in subdivision (a) for which freeway directional signs had previously been erected and which has, on or after January 1, 1980, moved to another location, if that move was done to contribute to the improvement of the institution, as determined by the department. Freeway directional signs erected pursuant to this subdivision shall be at no cost to the institution.
  (c) Subdivision (a) applies to a public or private postsecondary institution which is located within two miles of the freeway in a major metropolitan area, within four miles of the freeway in an urban area, or within five miles of the freeway in a rural area. Subdivision (b) applies to a public or private postsecondary education institution which has moved to a location which is within the distances specified in this subdivision.

The Department of Transportation shall place and maintain on each major state highway entering the state within 500 feet after the state line, a sign that states that the abandonment or dumping of any animal is a crime punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) or confinement in a county jail of up to six months, or both.