An often litigated issue in auto accident cases is the missing stop sign. Traffic control devices often get blown down by wind, falling tree's, motorists, vandalism, and highway construction.

      Is the driver's violation of the missing control device excused? The answer is, it depends.

      The driver may have been familiar with the roadway from driving it on a regular basis. If the driver was not familiar with the roadway, and the stop sign was in fact obscured or missing, traditional negligence principles apply. Would a person using ordinary care have stopped and looked both ways at the intersection even though there was no stop sign?

     Instructions by the Court:

     In this case (plaintiff, defendant) contends that the stop sign was (missing, obscured). The first question for you to decide is whether the stop sign was (in place, sufficiently visible to be seen by an ordinarily observant person). If you find that it was, (plaintiff's, defendant's) failure to stop was negligence. If you find that it was not, you must decide whether (plaintiff, defendant) knew or in the use of reasonable care should have known that the intersecting highway was a through highway. If you find that (plaintiff, defendant) knew or should have known that fact (plaintiff's, defendant's) failure to stop was negligence. If you find that (plaintiff, defendant) did not know and had no reason to know that the intersecting road was a through highway, you must then decide if (plaintiff, defendant) was negligent under the usual right-of-way rule that I just gave you