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Old 01-06-2019, 09:59 AM
 
Location: East TN
10,979 posts, read 9,609,868 times
Reputation: 40051

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Yellow signals, to me, means be ready to stop, so flashing yellow arrow would confuse me. Am I supposed to go ahead with caution, or try to go fast and beat the upcoming red, or just stop and wait for the green arrow? I'm sure drivers would be honking and angry at my confusion.

And funny coincidence today...I had a Michigan native comment about Michigan left turns just this morning and I had no idea what in the world she was talking about....now I know! Sheesh, that just looks complicated as he**.
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Old 01-06-2019, 10:21 AM
 
8,583 posts, read 15,947,381 times
Reputation: 11354
It seems much easier to teach the young new drivers that they always yield for left turns unless there is a
dedicated turn arrow. If they forget that last part someone behind them will remind them, but not a deadly mistake to make.

To muddy the water with yellow flashing, yellow flashing with arrows is going to confuse drivers and get someone killed when they think they have a right of way.

I asked a police officer friend what the difference was in a flashing yellow with arrow and a green light in left turn lane. He couldn't tell me..

How many actually know the different meaning in a yellow with arrow vs yellow flashing with arrow...

An arrow on green means right of way , therefore using arrows on yellow & red to mean other things is dangerous.

And now a red arrow means stop..same as a red light...
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Old 01-06-2019, 10:31 AM
 
26,145 posts, read 21,352,787 times
Reputation: 22706
There areas here that have a flashing yellow arrows have signs to instruct you to turn but yield to oncoming traffic. We also have green arrows incorporated into the same lights and they are needed in addition to the flashing yellow
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Old 01-06-2019, 10:33 AM
Status: "Back home again." (set 3 days ago)
 
Location: Suburban Dallas
52,568 posts, read 47,690,485 times
Reputation: 33644
Alright, folks, here's the deal: It had been determined many years ago that stale green traffic signals at intersections have caused many traffic accidents. The color yellow, on the other hand, sends a message to drivers that that's the signal for YIELD while making a left turn. The color green had caused more bad judgment and rash decisions among drivers not to yield and end up anticipating too quickly. So, the FHWA decided to mandate the use of FYA (Flashing Yellow Arrow) at intersections, high volume or not, to initiate better safety guidelines for drivers. The FHWA did a study and concluded that the flashing yellow arrow resulted in fewer accidents than stale green had. The implementation has been in effect for about ten years. Flashing yellow is in, and stale green, eventually, will be OUT!

Flashing yellow arrows are here to stay. It's a better system and people all over are still making adjustments to it at the intersections that currently employ it. This implementation is being done in phases throughout the country. Yes, it's now mandatory. People just have to yield to oncoming traffic until clear, then make the left turn. Stale yellow is still going to be a signal to slow down and prepare to stop for red.
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Old 01-06-2019, 10:35 AM
 
256 posts, read 138,386 times
Reputation: 312
Quote:
Originally Posted by reneeh63 View Post
And that's why I plan my routes to avoid left turns whenever possible. 4-way stops are the worst but traffic lights like those really don't help much.
Just keep in mind: "Three rights make a left"
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Old 01-06-2019, 11:49 AM
 
Location: Metro Detroit Michigan
6,975 posts, read 5,294,042 times
Reputation: 6416
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheShadow View Post
Yellow signals, to me, means be ready to stop, so flashing yellow arrow would confuse me. Am I supposed to go ahead with caution, or try to go fast and beat the upcoming red, or just stop and wait for the green arrow? I'm sure drivers would be honking and angry at my confusion.

And funny coincidence today...I had a Michigan native comment about Michigan left turns just this morning and I had no idea what in the world she was talking about....now I know! Sheesh, that just looks complicated as he**.
Michigan lefts are quite simple and keeps traffic flowing.
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Old 01-06-2019, 11:51 AM
 
8,583 posts, read 15,947,381 times
Reputation: 11354
Quote:
Originally Posted by easy62 View Post
Michigan lefts are quite simple and keeps traffic flowing.
I didn't know it was called that, but I do these often in heavy traffic just because a left would take forever...
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Old 01-06-2019, 12:06 PM
 
4,294 posts, read 7,159,621 times
Reputation: 3435
Quote:
Originally Posted by case44 View Post
Alright, folks, here's the deal: It had been determined many years ago that stale green traffic signals at intersections have caused many traffic accidents. The color yellow, on the other hand, sends a message to drivers that that's the signal for YIELD while making a left turn. The color green had caused more bad judgment and rash decisions among drivers not to yield and end up anticipating too quickly. So, the FHWA decided to mandate the use of FYA (Flashing Yellow Arrow) at intersections, high volume or not, to initiate better safety guidelines for drivers. The FHWA did a study and concluded that the flashing yellow arrow resulted in fewer accidents than stale green had. The implementation has been in effect for about ten years. Flashing yellow is in, and stale green, eventually, will be OUT!

Flashing yellow arrows are here to stay. It's a better system and people all over are still making adjustments to it at the intersections that currently employ it. This implementation is being done in phases throughout the country. Yes, it's now mandatory. People just have to yield to oncoming traffic until clear, then make the left turn. Stale yellow is still going to be a signal to slow down and prepare to stop for red.
That's pretty much the explanation I heard when the yellow flashing arrows started showing up here a few years back. Supposedly, the solid circular green light, particularly at dedicated left turn lanes, made some drivers think they had the right-of-way, because they were in a left turn-only lane, and had a green light, which means clear to go, right?
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Old 01-06-2019, 04:09 PM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,480,102 times
Reputation: 37905
Quote:
Originally Posted by kelly237 View Post
It seems much easier to teach the young new drivers that they always yield for left turns unless there is a
dedicated turn arrow. If they forget that last part someone behind them will remind them, but not a deadly mistake to make.

To muddy the water with yellow flashing, yellow flashing with arrows is going to confuse drivers and get someone killed when they think they have a right of way.

I asked a police officer friend what the difference was in a flashing yellow with arrow and a green light in left turn lane. He couldn't tell me..

How many actually know the different meaning in a yellow with arrow vs yellow flashing with arrow...

An arrow on green means right of way , therefore using arrows on yellow & red to mean other things is dangerous.

And now a red arrow means stop..same as a red light...
I cannot believe how many people don't seem to be able to see the obvious. I picked your example because of the stupidity shown by a police officer.

It is very simple: A green light in a turn lane means you are free to turn at any time. There is no traffic allowed in the opposite direction. Their light is red. A yellow flashing arrow tells you that you can turn, but use caution (yellow) because traffic coming in the other lanes have a green light.

It isn't that difficult.
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Old 01-06-2019, 04:39 PM
 
Location: equator
10,999 posts, read 6,521,883 times
Reputation: 25421
I had never seen this before visiting a relative in the Dallas suburbs. We thought they were extremely dangerous, as often we could not SEE the opposing traffic (hills, curves, other cars) so didn't know when it was safe to make the turn. We ended up planning our route to avoid them, which was a hassle.

How this is an improvement, is a mystery to us.
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