Officials Warn of Non-Working Traffic Signals Throughout Philadelphia Suburbs
By John McDevitt
ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- With scores of accidents all over the region because of traffic lights not operating due to the power outages (see related story), law enforcement officials have a safety reminder for you.
"We did have several fender-benders at the intersections caused by the lights being out and people not yielding," notes Bill Kelly, the chief of police in Abington Township and the emergency management coordinator.
He says motorists should use common sense when approaching an intersection where the traffic light is not working.
"The requirement is that they treat it like a four-way stop," he said. "(That) is the ideal thing, but obviously in the major streets we want them to keep flowing, so when people are approaching a major through street then they should give the right-of-way to the through street. And obviously they would have to wait until there is an opening to pull out."
Chief Kelly says keep your eyes peeled out there:
"We not only have a bunch of debris and limbs and things like that in the streets, but also, with the traffic signals out, it's very dangerous and they need to use an extra measure of caution."