Stop. Go. Yield.

Crash.

It’s inevitable that on a campus of some 40,000 students - many of which have to commute to campus daily - there’s going to be an accident every now and then. Add in the countless pedestrians, bicyclists and people on other forms of wheels and the odds get worse for something to go wrong with campus traffic.

Last week, pedestrians and drivers attempting to maneuver Shaw Lane probably noticed the yellow signs in the middle of crosswalks - an attempt to get the busy road’s traffic to slow down for those commuting under their own power. The yield signs are part of a study by university traffic engineers and engineering students to see how traffic safety can be improved on campus.

Drivers should be prepared to see those signs popping up here and there as the study continues.

And as the experts study how to improve traffic safety, the All-University Traffic Committee will take a look at a new pedestrian safety plan this week.

We feel safer knowing university officials are taking a close look at this issue. Too often we read stories about a student getting hit who was trying to cross traffic. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone on campus who doesn’t have a friend or classmate who was either in a car accident, bike accident or some combination of the two.

The addition of those bright yield signs could be helpful in making campus safer. But as many of us witnessed last week, a massive education campaign needs to accompany any physical changes to roadways, sidewalks and bike paths. Too often we saw pedestrians - and drivers - not knowing exactly how to deal with those yield signs.

And as those signs are potentially moved from place to place, drivers and pedestrians are likely to get more confused. All crosswalks deserve the kind of attention those signs bring, and the consistency of their use throughout campus would certainly help motorists and pedestrians learn how to use them properly.

But we shouldn’t be learning about safety through trial-and-error on the street. There needs to be more publicity about pedestrian, bicycle and automobile etiquette and safety on campus.

Maybe then we’ll finally figure out who has the right of way.