Drivers in Rochester Keep Missing This Important Sign

It's right there, in bold colors of red and white, right along a busy highway here in Rochester, yet very few drivers seem to actually do what this sign tells them to do.

Have you heard the phrase, 'familiarity breeds invisibility'? It’s often used to describe how people stop noticing things they see every day, like billboards, clutter around the office or your house, and even traffic signs.

Why Familiar Traffic Signs Become Invisible to Drivers

There’s also a related saying in the world of traffic engineering and advertising that says, 'A sign unseen is a sign unread.' And, in the billboard/marketing world, people sometimes say that 'Signs become wallpaper over time.'

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All of them get at the same idea: once something becomes part of the everyday landscape, our brains start tuning it out. And that certainly appears to be the case with this road sign right here in Minnesota's Med City.

The Confusing Highway 52 On-Ramp in Rochester

I'm talking about the yield sign along the Highway-52 north on-ramp, off westbound Civic Center Drive. So, say you're heading west-- like maybe you just left Hy-Vee in the Barlow Plaza, and you're going to head up to the Cities. You'd turn right off Civic Center Drive to take the on-ramp, right?

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But, as you turn off Civic Center drive-- ah-hah-- THERE'S the yield sign. The one NOBODY seems to obey. It's not a big deal, unless cars are turning onto the on-ramp from eastbound Highway 14.

Who Actually Has the Right-of-Way at This Rochester Ramp?

Seeing as we live west of that intersection, my wife and I take Highway-14 east to that Highway-52 north on-ramp often. And, once you've stopped for any on-coming westbound cars on Civic Center Drive, those vehicles are supposed to be able to head straight onto the on-ramp, because cars turning right onto the on-ramp from Civic Center Drive are supposed to yield the right-of-way, as the yield sign says.

But very few vehicles turning onto the on-ramp from Civic Center Drive actually yield to traffic crossing Highway 14. We've often been given dirty looks (or the 'ol one-finger salute) by drivers turning right onto the on-ramp from Civic Center Drive who kept right on going, thinking that WE should yield the right-of-way. But that's not what the sign says.

Have you ever noticed this phantom yield sign when you've taken that on-ramp? Why does nobody pay attention to it? It's like it's not even there. It truly IS the traffic sign in Rochester that nobody obeys!