§ 101.060.Traffic and Road Control Devices

The traffic device exclusion, and it applies the policy-implementation line to signs and signals.

The chapter does not apply to a claim arising from:

(1) the failure of a governmental unit initially to place a traffic or road sign, signal, or warning device, if the failure results from discretionary action; (2) the absence, condition, or malfunction of such a device, unless not corrected within a reasonable time after notice; or (3) the removal or destruction of a device by a third person, unless the governmental unit fails to correct it within a reasonable time after actual notice.

The word "initially" carries the first subdivision. Deciding whether to install a signal in the first place is a discretionary policy judgment and is protected. Maintaining one already installed is not.

The exceptions in the second and third are where claims survive, and they turn on notice. A malfunctioning signal is not actionable — until the governmental unit has notice and fails to correct it within a reasonable time. The third subdivision requires actual notice, a higher standard than the second.

Subsection (b) confines the section to devices used in connection with hazards normally connected with the use of the roadway.

Subsection (c) preserves the special defect duty: the section does not apply to the duty to warn of special defects such as excavations or roadway obstructions — the same carve-out the premise defect section makes.

The two sections work together: the ordinary duty is reduced or excluded, and the special defect duty is preserved in both.