One of the convenient things about driving is that there are literal signs you can use to figure out what you’re supposed to do while driving. If you pull up to an intersection with a stop sign, you know to stop. If you pull up to a yield sign, you know to yield. The thing you’re supposed to do is written right there on the sign. So why, for the love of all that is good and holy, do people get so confused by signs that say to keep moving? You’ve already got a whole lane. Use it!
This rant, of course, doesn’t come out of nowhere. I recently moved and now have to deal with an intersection that includes one of those “Keep Moving” signs. You would think people would be able to read and would, well, keep moving, but far too often, some random driver stops while making a right turn with an entire open lane in front of them, waiting for traffic they don’t have to yield to give them enough space to pull out. Into the dedicated lane they already had. The lane with no traffic in it.
Now, generally speaking, I’m in favor of drivers being more careful and taking fewer risks, but predictability is also an important part of road safety. Other people need to be able to figure out what you’re going to do, and when you randomly stop for absolutely no reason, it increases the chances of someone having a wreck. Let’s not do that, OK?
Of course, not every driver is familiar with every intersection they encounter, but again, that’s why signs exist. To tell you what you’re supposed to do. And at no point do they ever mean the opposite of what they say. That red octagon with S-T-O-P written on it? It means you’re supposed to stop. You know, because it says “Stop.” A sign that says “Keep Moving” also means exactly what it says. It isn’t that hard to understand, and yet, I bet within a week, I’ll encounter another driver stopped in the exact same spot, waiting on nothing while a parade of honking drivers backs up behind them.
Do drivers just not look at signs anymore? It’s possible. Navigation systems have taken a lot of the mental load of getting somewhere off our plates, so it would make sense that people don’t pay as much attention to the signs outside their cars. At the same time, though, you still have to keep an eye out for stop signs. If I had to guess, it’s probably at least partly an issue with sign color. Black text on a white background just doesn’t stand out nearly as much as a red or yellow sign would.
On the other hand, transportation departments use white regulatory signs all the time, from marking one-way streets to showing the speed limit. Just pay attention while driving, and you shouldn’t have a problem seeing the sign telling you what to do. In this case, when the sign says to keep moving, it’s because you’re supposed to keep moving.