State and Local Jurisdiction Concerns
State and local jurisdictions are primarily concerned about increased costs and tort liability. With regard to costs, the phase-in period is designed to minimize impacts and allow jurisdictions to plan for sign upgrades within their existing maintenance cycles.
The extent of the impacts on tort litigation would vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, depending upon the current sign management practices in individual jurisdictions. It is FHWA’s position that a jurisdiction should be able to successfully defend their program against tort cases as long as they adhere to a viable maintenance method. Typically, tort cases are decided based on adherence to a process, and not based on whether a particular sign meets a minimum retroreflectivity level. In other words, adherence to the process would serve as the basis for meeting the minimum levels.
