HOUSTON — Widespread power outages across the Houston area following Hurricane Beryl are leading to very dangerous situations on the roads.
This is due to traffic lights that are flashing and drivers who don't know how to treat these intersections as four-way stops.
On Wednesday, we found out just how many of the traffic lights are out across the area following Hurricane Beryl. TxDOT confirmed that 600 of the traffic signals that the state maintains are still not working. And more than a quarter of the traffic signals in the City of Houston are also down. At this point, there no timeline for when they'll be back up.
In the City of Houston, of the 2,500 signal lights, 515 have no power, 75 are flashing and 53 have significant damage. That's according to Houston Public Works.
Reporter Marcelino Benito will have the latest number of outages today on KHOU 11 News.
When Austin Abernathy and his husband A.J. Mistretta came to the corner of Chartres Street and McGowen Street, they knew what to do and stopped.
"It was dark around that intersection," Mistretta said.
The other driver did not.
"The other person didn't know there was a light there even. They didn't stop, they didn't pause, they just kept going," Mistretta said.
"I saw the car coming directly at me headlights were getting closer then it hit me dead on," Abernathy said.
Luckily, no one was seriously injured, but their story is happening across the city.
Major intersections with traffic lights out can create confusion and chaos on the road.
"I've seen like 4 wrecks on 1488," said Jeff Adams, owner of Magnolia Driver's Ed.
Lessons that drivers learned long ago need to be top of mind.
"It is bad, bad everywhere, people are just not paying attention, they see the lights are out, so they think let's throw the rules out...no," Adams said.
Adams said if the lights are out, treat it as a four-way stop. That means everyone stops, and then follows these three simple rules:
- The person that gets there first goes first.
- If there's a tie, you yield to the person on your right.
- If someone is turning, they must yield the right of way to the person going straight.
"When in doubt let the other person go," Adams said.
Above all, don't assume drivers know the right thing to do.
But what do you do when you come up to a very busy intersection with multiple lanes and everyone seems to be trying to go at once?
"When lights are out you need to be in defense, not offense," Adams said.
Each direction should be taking turns. If that's not happening and it appears chaotic, just proceed with caution, go slow and keep a close eye for any other drivers headed your way.