Editing Stop sign (section)

==Application==
The use of stop signs varies by country. North America and South Africa use [[all-way stop]]s in some intersections unlike in some countries where they are legally prohibited.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223943/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf|title= Traffic Signs Manual, Chapter 3: Regulatory Signs, Section 3.4|publisher=UK Department of Transport|date = 8 September 2008}}&nbsp;{{small|(2.0&nbsp;MB)}}</ref> In a majority{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} of Central Asian countries, as well as Cuba in North America, junctions without traffic lights or roundabouts are controlled by stop signs on minor roads and by [[Priority to the right|white, yellow and black priority diamond signs]] on the major road. In Europe and Australia, stop signs are restricted to places where coming to a dead stop is deemed necessary because of severely limited sight lines. At the vast majority of minor intersections in these countries [[yield sign|give way]] signs or equivalent road markings are used, or the intersections are no-priority; [[roundabouts]] also work on the give way (rather than stop) principle.

===North America===
Stop signs are often used in North America to control conflicting traffic movements at intersections that are deemed not busy enough to justify the installation of a [[traffic signal]] or [[roundabout]]. In the United States, the stop sign is not intended as a [[traffic calming]] device,<ref name="MUTCD03_2B"/> but is meant to be installed mainly for safety or to assign right-of-way. Stop signs may be erected on all intersecting roads, resulting in an [[all-way stop]].<ref name="MUTCD03_2B"/> Some research has concluded that stop signs do not offer measurable safety benefits over the [[give Way|Yield]] approach.<ref>Some factors influencing the road behaviour of vehicle drivers. R.J. Smeed, UK Road Research Laboratory. Operational Research Quarterly, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Birmingham, England, 1952.</ref><ref>"Driver behaviour and accident records at unsignalized urban intersections". Abishai Polusa, Department of Civil Engineering & Transportation Research Institute, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel. June 1984. Available online 4 July 2002.</ref> Other research has concluded that multiway stop signs do not effectively control traffic speeds, and can give rise to negative effects including increased traffic noise and pollution from braking and accelerating vehicles, enforcement problems, and reduced sign compliance.<ref>Bretherton, M. "Multi-Way Stops—The MUTCD Is Correct!" 1999 ITE Compendium
of Technical Papers. Institute of Transportation Engineers, August 1999.</ref>

====On school buses====
{{Main|School bus traffic stop laws}}
[[File:Thomas School Bus Bus.jpg|thumb|An American [[school bus]] displaying front and rear folding stop signs]]
A stop sign on a pivoting arm is required equipment on North American [[School bus#Warning lights and safety devices|school buses]]. The sign normally stows flat on the left side of the bus, and is deployed by the driver when opening the [[Bus doors|door]] for picking up or dropping off passengers. Some buses have two such stop arms, one near the front facing forwards, and one near the rear facing backwards. The stop sign is retroreflective and equipped either with red blinking lights above and below the '''{{smallcaps|stop}}''' legend or with a legend that is illuminated by [[Light emitting diode|LEDs]]. Unlike a normal stop sign, this sign indicates a two-way absolute stop, requiring other vehicles travelling in both directions to remain stopped until the sign is retracted.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

===Europe===
In Europe, stop signs are generally placed at sites where visibility is severely restricted, or where a high crash rate has been noted. In some European countries, stop signs are placed at level crossings to mark the stop line. For most situations, Europe uses the [[yield sign|give way]] sign instead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rd.com/article/paris-stop-sign/|title=Here's Why There Isn't a Single Stop Sign in Paris|date=1 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.transparent.com/dutch/dutch-traffic-why-the-stop-sign-is-so-rare-in-the-netherlands/|title=Dutch Traffic: Why the stop sign is so rare in the Netherlands|date=28 June 2018|website=Dutch Language Blog &#124; Language and Culture of the Dutch-Speaking World}}</ref> All-way stops, which are common in North America, are exceedingly rare in Europe. Comparatively, roundabouts and priority to the right intersections are more common.

====United Kingdom====
In the United Kingdom, stop signs may only be placed at junctions with tramways or sites with severely restricted visibility.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/782724/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf|title=Traffic Signs Manual|publisher=TSO|year=2019|isbn=978-0-11-553223-8|location=London|pages=18|chapter=Chapter 3: Regulatory Signs|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref> Until 2016, each stop sign had to be individually approved by the [[Secretary of State for Transport]].<ref>UK [[Department of Transport]]. [https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223943/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-03.pdf ''Traffic Signs Manual'', Chapter 3: Regulatory Signs, Section 3.2, 9 September 2008]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/3113/schedule/19/part/IIn2/paragraph/6/made/data.htm|title=The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|language=en|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> This requirement was removed by the 2016 amendments to the [[Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions]];<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523916/DfT-circular-01-2016.pdf|title=DfT Circular: The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016|year=2016|pages=76|chapter=Annex A|access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/362/schedule/19/part/2/made/data.htm|title=The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> the responsibility for approving stop signs now lies with local authorities.

Section 79 of the [[Highways Act 1980]] enables the government to improve visibility at junctions, as by removing or shortening walls or hedges. The Department for Transport considers improving visibility to be preferable to installing a stop sign.<ref name=":0" /> The former UK practice of using "Halt" or "Slow" at Major Road Ahead signs was discontinued in 1965 at the recommendation of the [[Worboys Committee]].<ref>Great Britain. ''Report of the Traffic Signs Committee'' [Chairman, Sir Walter Worboys], 18 April 1963.</ref> Instead of replacing all the old {{Smallcaps|halt}} signs with the new Vienna Convention {{Smallcaps|stop}} sign, the {{Smallcaps|give way}} sign became the standard one at UK priority junctions.<ref>"New traffic signs demonstrated on road at Birmingham." The Surveyor and Municipal Engineer, vol 122, p880, 1963.</ref>