What is a Traffic Signal Warrant?
The use of the word “warrant” in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is unfortunate since this word implies the idea of “sanctioned, needed and approved”. However these adjectives do not apply to the warrant guidelines in the MUTCD.1 The MUTCD has eight guidelines (called warrants), which establish certain minimum thresholds below which a traffic signal should not be installed. Satisfying one or more of these warrants does not mean that the city must or should install a traffic signal. In fact, the MUTCD states the following: A traffic control signal should not be installed unless one or more of the factors described in this section are met. – A traffic control signal should not be installed unless an engineering study indicates that installing a traffic control signal will improve the overall safety and/or operation of the intersection. – A traffic control signal should not be installed if it will seriously disrupt progressive traffic flow.2 1 Page 3, The Traffic Sig
