Amarillo Drivers Keep Blowing Through This Yield Sign, and It’s Getting Dangerous

There is just something about driving in Amarillo. It seems that no matter where you drive, some people drive like they never took driver's ed. One of the biggest pet peeves that I have while driving is people who don't adhere to yield signs.

What set this off was that I was traveling down I-40 and exited the Paramount exit. Ninety percent of people who take that exit end up in the far lane of the access road. Nine times out of ten, if a car is traveling on the access road, they never stop or even slow down at that yield sign. I have seen so many near-wrecks at that exit and other exits like that.

So why is it so hard to slow down at a yield sign when you see a string of cars coming off the interstate slowing down from 60 mph? Is stopping for 30 seconds so bad that you would be willing to cause a wreck because you didn't follow the law?

What Does Texas Law Say About Yield Signs?

According to the Texas Transportation Code 545.143, if you're approaching an intersection with a yield sign, you need to slow down to a reasonable speed and give the right-of-way to vehicles already in the intersection or vehicles approaching closely enough to be a hazard.

And importantly, if you drive through a yield sign without stopping when you are required to yield and then get into a crash with another vehicle in the intersection, the crash itself is considered initial evidence that you failed to yield.

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According to the Texas DPS Texas Drivers Handbook, the yield sign tells you the road you are on joins with another road ahead. You should slow down or stop if necessary so you can yield the right-of-way to vehicles, pedestrians, or bicycles on the other road.

Why Fault Defaults to the Driver Who Didn't Yield

The yield sign is not a suggestion, and if an accident happens because someone blew through it, the person who didn't slow down or stop at the yield sign is at fault.

Read More: What Texas Drivers Should Know About the Turning Lane

Going back to the Transportation Code, if a driver goes through a yield sign without stopping and crashes with a vehicle in the intersection, Texas law considers the crash evidence that the driver failed to yield.

How Much Can Failing to Yield Cost You?

The cost for failing to yield could get expensive; a ticket for property damage only with no injuries is $150-$300. For a wreck with bodily injury, the fine is $500-$2,000, and if there is serious bodily injury, the fines can reach $1,000-$4,000. If the wreck results in a fatality, you could be facing criminal charges.

This doesn't even include what your insurance premiums will skyrocket to, and if the other person sues.

Read More: The Texas Panhandle's Deadliest Highway Lies Between Amarillo and Borger

None of that is worth blowing through a yield sign.