It has come to the attention of many Duplin County residents, long term and short, that there recently has been a major traffic law change at the intersection of Highway 117 and Bay Road. This 4-way stop not only effects the daily traffic pattern and commute time for local residents, it has now increased the risk of rear end and side-empact collisions.

Fortunately enough, Teachey, NC has a Volunteer Fire Department beside this intersection to decrease response times for future accidents. But unfortunately enough, complex street law phasing causes longer waiting times at intersections, as both drivers and pedestrians tend to become impatient and violate these laws, specifically on highways, or drivers are tempted to cut through neighborhood streets. This subjects local residents to a greater risk of collisions, worse congestion and more air and noise pollution. Teachey, NC is a town full of children as local residents, indefinitely kids aged 13-17 as Wallace-Rose Hill High School is 1/4 away from this new 4-way stop.

By having 4-way stop signs near a School (high traffic area with high speeds), statistics show there is a 3-12% increase in non-observance, increasing the risk of accidents with children involved. NCDOT says "We looked at 10 years of history, and that was in 10 years [there were] 21 crashes, about two a year. And in the past year, there’s only been one crash,”. According to NCDOT statistics, there is a 77% reduction in fatal and injury crashes once 4-way stops are installed. According to other studies done nationally by other state DOT's, placing four-way stop signs on roads of very unequal design, speed and traffic volume will tend to promote stop-sign violations by drivers, especially on main roads identical to Highway 117. Driver expectancies are violated in situations like this and when this occurs, improper actions result which can increase safety risk at intersections. Encouraging motorists to drive faster between intersections in order to save time. Placing stop signs on highways promotes speeding faster through 4-way stops, as drivers try to offset the delays caused by maintaining a constant speed, stopping, then having to maintain that exact speed immediately therfore after.

By signing this petition, you are standing up to NCDOT and the Duplin County Transportation Division. Telling them YOU as a local, worker or visitor here in Duplin County, believe this 4-way stop sign at the intersection of Highway 117 and Bay Road in Teachey, NC, needs to either be removed, or changed to something more attentive such as a traffic light (blinking or weight changing). Therefore after, putting a traffic light at the intersection of Highway 117 and Lodge Street, where the High School is. Our friends and family are at risk of injury and/or fatalities. Our children are at risk. Our future. Duplin County's future.