Queensland has rejected a proposal to replace every stop sign in the state with a give-way sign, arguing that the safety benefits of stopping outweigh the extra fuel or energy used. The response to a petition backed by 391 residents was recorded by parliament on 25 September and reported by ABC News on Saturday.

The petition, tabled on 26 August, argued that requiring vehicles to stop completely was “almost always of no safety significance” and collectively wasted fuel or electricity. It also claimed that full stops could contribute to rear-end crashes when drivers behind larger vehicles could not see the sign. Those were the petition's arguments, not findings accepted by the government.

In his written response, Transport and Main Roads Minister Brent Mickelberg said: “Stop and Give Way signs are not interchangeable traffic controls.” He said the signs served different road-safety and traffic-management functions and were installed in accordance with nationally recognised engineering standards and traffic-control guidelines.

Mickelberg said stop signs were generally used where visibility was restricted, where crash history showed a need for greater control, or where a give-way sign could not adequately manage specific safety risks. Their purpose, he said, was to reduce the likelihood and severity of crashes where drivers might not have enough opportunity to identify conflicting traffic.

The minister acknowledged that bringing a vehicle to a complete stop could consume more fuel or energy than giving way. At the locations requiring stop signs, however, he said the safety benefits outweighed those operational impacts. He also recognised that unnecessary traffic controls imposed costs on road users and said controls should be proportionate to the risk.

According to the response, decisions about installing stop signs depend on the conditions at each site, including sight distance, intersection geometry, traffic volumes and safety performance. Mickelberg said they were not installed routinely. On that basis, the government did not support a blanket replacement of stop signs across Queensland.

The government's published giving-way guidance explains that giving way means slowing down and, if necessary, stopping to prevent a crash. Drivers must give way at a give-way sign and check that it is safe to continue; the instruction does not mean they can always keep moving.

Its road-marking guidance also says stop and give-way lines have the same meaning and authority as the corresponding signs. Where there is no matching sign installed, drivers must still obey the markings as though a sign were present.

Residents who believe an intersection has been incorrectly signed can raise it with the relevant road owner, Mickelberg said. His response directs them to the QLDTraffic Road Lookup tool, which allows users to identify road ownership and contact details by searching a road name or selecting a road on the map.