CHAPTER 4. TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES
IC 9-21-4
Chapter 4. Traffic Control Devices
IC 9-21-4-1
Signing, marking, and erection; guidelines
Sec. 1. A governmental agency in Indiana that is responsible for
the signing, marking, and erection of traffic control devices on streets
and highways within Indiana shall follow the Indiana Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-2
Placement and maintenance; department of transportation; local
authorities; unnecessary signals; removal
Sec. 2. (a) The Indiana department of transportation shall place
and, except as otherwise provided in this section, maintain traffic
control devices conforming to the state manual and specifications
upon all state highways, including the state maintained routes
through a city or town, as necessary to indicate and to carry out this
article or to regulate, warn, or guide traffic.
(b) A local authority may not place or maintain a traffic control
device upon a highway in the state highway system or the state
maintained routes through a city or town until the authority has
received written permission from the Indiana department of
transportation.
(c) If the department determines, upon the basis of an engineering
and traffic investigation, that any traffic control signal is not
necessary for the safe, convenient, economical, and orderly
movement of traffic, the signal shall be removed by the Indiana
department of transportation and be returned to the authority
responsible for the signal's erection. If the Indiana department of
transportation determines, based on an engineering and traffic
investigation, that a traffic control signal now in place is necessary
for the safe, convenient, economical, and orderly movement of
traffic, the signal must remain in place, and the Indiana department
of transportation shall affix a tag or seal to the signal showing that
the signal has been approved by the Indiana department of
transportation.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-3
Local authorities; jurisdiction; duties; traffic calming devices
Sec. 3. (a) As used in this section, "traffic calming device" means
a device erected to slow traffic on residential streets, including the
following:
(1) traffic circles;
(2) curb extensions;
(3) neck downs;
(4) diagonal diverters;
(5) truncated diagonal diverters; or
(6) chicanes.
(b) A local authority shall place and maintain traffic control
devices upon highways under the authority's jurisdiction, not
including state highways, the authority considers necessary to
indicate and to carry out this article or local traffic ordinances or to
regulate, warn, or guide traffic. All traffic control devices, except
traffic calming devices, erected under this section after June 30,
1939, must conform to the Indiana manual on uniform traffic control
devices for streets and highways, ("the state manual") and design
specifications. However, the design and use of traffic calming
devices shall conform to generally accepted engineering principles
of road design, and shall not affect the requirements of the state
manual and design specifications as regards any other traffic control
device, as used in this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.93-1996, SEC.1.
IC 9-21-4-4
Unauthorized traffic control devices; prohibition
Sec. 4. A person may not place, maintain, or display upon or in
view of a highway an unauthorized sign, signal, marking, or device
that:
(1) purports to be, is an imitation of, or resembles an official
traffic control device or a railroad sign or signal;
(2) attempts to direct the movement of traffic; or
(3) hides from view or interferes with the effectiveness of an
official traffic control device or a railroad sign or signal.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-5
Commercial advertising; placement on traffic control devices;
prohibition; exceptions; tourist attraction signage; lights
maintained on private property; restrictions
Sec. 5. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a person may not
place or maintain upon a highway a traffic sign or signal bearing
commercial advertising. A public authority may not permit the
placement of a traffic sign or signal that bears a commercial message.
(b) Under criteria to be jointly established by the Indiana
department of transportation and the office of tourism development,
the Indiana department of transportation may authorize the posting
of any of the following:
(1) Limited tourist attraction signage.
(2) Business signs on specific information panels on the
interstate system of highways and other freeways.
All costs of manufacturing, installation, and maintenance to the
Indiana department of transportation for a business sign posted under
this subsection shall be paid by the business.
(c) Criteria established under subsection (b) for tourist attraction
signage must include a category for a tourist attraction that:
(1) is a trademarked destination brand; and
(2) encompasses buildings, structures, sites, or other facilities
that are:
(A) listed on the National Register of Historic Places
established under 16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.; or
(B) listed on the register of Indiana historic sites and historic
structures established under IC 14-21-1;
regardless of the distance of the tourist attraction from the highway
on which the tourist attraction signage is placed.
(d) Criteria established under subsection (b) for tourist attraction
signage must include a category for a tourist attraction that is an
establishment licensed under IC 7.1-3-2-7(5).
(e) A person may not place, maintain, or display a flashing, a
rotating, or an alternating light, beacon, or other lighted device that:
(1) is visible from a highway; and
(2) may be mistaken for or confused with a traffic control
device or for an authorized warning device on an emergency
vehicle.
(f) This section does not prohibit the erection, upon private
property adjacent to highways, of signs giving useful directional
information and of a type that cannot be mistaken for official signs.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.229-2005, SEC.8;
P.L.30-2007, SEC.1; P.L.94-2008, SEC.59.
IC 9-21-4-6
Advertising signs, signals, and devices; placement on or over
roadway; prohibition; removal
Sec. 6. (a) A person may not place, maintain, or display an
advertising sign, signal, or device on or over the roadway of a
highway.
(b) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising
sign, signal, or device on a highway in a city between the curb and
sidewalk. If the curb and sidewalk join, a person may not place,
maintain, or display on the sidewalk an advertising sign, signal, or
device closer than ten (10) feet from the curb line. Overhanging signs
may not overhang the curb.
(c) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising
sign or device of any character within one hundred (100) feet of a
highway outside the corporate limits of an incorporated city or town
that obstructs the view of:
(1) the highway; or
(2) an intersecting highway, street, alley, or private driveway;
of a person traveling the highway for a distance of five hundred
(500) feet or less from the sign or device as the person approaches
the highway or intersecting highway.
(d) A person may not place, maintain, or display an advertising
sign or a device of a permanent or semipermanent character on a
highway right-of-way.
(e) Each sign, signal, or marking prohibited under this section is
declared to be a public nuisance. The authority having jurisdiction
over the highway may remove or cause to be removed the prohibited
sign, signal, or marking without notice.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-7
Designation or determination of the location of, necessity for, and
extent of traffic control devices; order of department of
transportation; violation; trial; certification of order; permits
Sec. 7. (a) Whenever, under this article, the Indiana department of
transportation designates or determines the location of, necessity for,
and extent of:
(1) traffic control devices;
(2) state speed limits, other than maximum limits;
(3) speed limits on elevated structures;
(4) no passing zones;
(5) one-way roadways;
(6) certain lanes for slow moving traffic;
(7) course of turning movements at intersections;
(8) dangerous railroad crossings requiring stops;
(9) through highways and stop intersections;
(10) angle parking; or
(11) restrictions on the use of highways for certain periods or
for certain vehicles, including low speed vehicles;
the designation or determination shall be by order of the
commissioner of the Indiana department of transportation and shall,
except for subdivision (1), be evidenced by official signs or markings
under this article.
(b) At a trial of a person charged with a violation of the
restrictions imposed by subsection (a) and in all civil actions, oral
evidence of the location and content of the signs or markings is prima
facie evidence of the adoption and application of the restriction by
the Indiana department of transportation and the validity of the
adoption and application of the restriction. The Indiana department
of transportation shall, upon request by a party in an action at law,
furnish, under the seal of the Indiana department of transportation,
a certification of the order establishing the restriction in question. A
certification under this subsection shall be accepted by any court as
conclusive proof of the designation or determination by the
commissioner of the Indiana department of transportation. Certified
copies shall be furnished without cost to the parties to a court action
involving the restriction upon request.
(c) Whenever, under this article, a permit or permission of the
Indiana department of transportation is required, the permit must be
in writing and under the seal of the Indiana department of
transportation.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9. Amended by P.L.21-2003, SEC.7.
IC 9-21-4-8
Rules of statewide application not evidenced by official signs and
not authorized by this article; adoption; use of administrative rules
Sec. 8. The rules for construction of private drives and controlling
the cutting of curbs in cities and any other rules of statewide
application that are:
(1) not evidenced by official signs or markings;
(2) made by the Indiana department of transportation; and
(3) not authorized by this article but authorized by other
statutes;
shall be adopted under IC 4-22-2.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-9
Administrative rules; adoption of rules of statewide application;
exceptions
Sec. 9. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), all rules
of statewide application shall be adopted under IC 4-22-2.
(b) Traffic regulations carrying a penalty for violation and
requiring the use of signs or markers to make them effective need not
be adopted under IC 4-22-2.
(c) Traffic regulations, except maximum speed limits and
worksite speed limits, shall be officially adopted by order of the
Indiana department of transportation.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-10
Emergency rules; adoption under administrative rules provisions
Sec. 10. If the Indiana department of transportation designates a
rule under section 8 or 9 of this chapter as an emergency rule, the
department may adopt the rule under IC 4-22-2-37.1.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-11
Through highways; stop or yield intersections; designation;
erection of signs
Sec. 11. The Indiana department of transportation, with reference
to state highways and highway routes through cities, and local
authorities, with reference to other highways under their jurisdiction,
may, upon an engineering and traffic investigation, designate:
(1) through highways and erect stop or yield signs at specified
entrances to the highways; or
(2) an intersection as a stop or yield intersection and erect stop
or yield signs at one (1) or more entrances to the intersection.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-12
No passing zones and narrow bridges on state highways;
designation; erection of signs
Sec. 12. (a) The Indiana department of transportation may
determine by an engineering and traffic investigation those parts of
a state highway where overtaking and passing or driving to the left
of the roadway would be especially hazardous and may, by
appropriate signs or marks on the roadway, indicate the beginning
and end of the zones.
(b) The Indiana department of transportation may determine that
a bridge, a culvert, or an approach to a bridge or culvert on a state
highway does not have sufficient clear roadway width to safely
permit the passing of two (2) vehicles. A bridge or culvert described
in this subsection shall be designated a one-lane bridge or a narrow
bridge.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-13
No passing zones; designation by local authorities; erection of signs
Sec. 13. A local unit that has responsibility for roads and streets
may determine by an engineering and traffic investigation those parts
of a road or street, including bridges, under the unit's jurisdiction
where overtaking and passing or driving to the left of the roadway
would be especially hazardous. Upon making that determination, the
local unit may, by ordinance, designate no-passing zones by
appropriate signs or marks on the roadway.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-14
One-way highways and streets; designation; erection of signs
Sec. 14. The Indiana department of transportation may designate
a highway or separate roadway under the department's jurisdiction
for one-way traffic and shall erect appropriate signs giving notice of
the designation.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-15
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.81-1996, SEC.12.)
IC 9-21-4-16
Stopping at railroad crossings; procedure
Sec. 16. When a stop sign is erected at a railroad crossing, the
driver of a vehicle shall stop within fifty (50) feet but not less than
ten (10) feet from the nearest track of the grade crossing and shall
proceed only upon exercising due care.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-17
Preferential right-of-way at intersections; signs
Sec. 17. Whenever traffic at an intersection is controlled by signs,
preferential right-of-way may be indicated by stop signs or yield
signs under this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-18
Operation of motor vehicle; obeyance of markings or signs
Sec. 18. A person who drives a vehicle must obey the markings or
signs posted under this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-19
Violations; Class C infraction
Sec. 19. A person who violates section 4, 5, 6, 16, 17, or 18 of this
chapter commits a Class C infraction.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.
IC 9-21-4-20
Highway work zones; signage; penalties
Sec. 20. (a) For purposes of this section, "highway work zone" has
the meaning set forth in IC 8-23-2-15.
(b) The Indiana department of transportation shall design and
manufacture or have manufactured signs that inform vehicle
operators of the offenses and penalties under:
(1) IC 9-21-5-11; and
(2) IC 9-21-8-56.
(c) A sign described in subsection (b) shall be posted at a
reasonable distance before a highway work zone by:
(1) the Indiana department of transportation;
(2) a political subdivision; or
(3) a contractor of the:
(A) Indiana department of transportation; or
(B) political subdivision;
that is working at the highway work zone.
A sign that is posted before a highway work zone must be posted in
accordance with the Indiana Manual on Uniform Traffic Control
Devices or the Indiana Work Site Traffic Control Manual.
As added by P.L.40-2007, SEC.1.