Dear Atlanta Drivers, What exactly confuses you about a blinking yellow light?? (transplants, live)

[OldFourthWardFan]

I apologize in advance if no one else on here has this problem but I have to vent because it is driving me insane. Perhaps it's because I'm an Atlanta transplant (though I've been here well over a decade) and someone can explain to me what I'm missing. While driving around town, I occasionally come across a blinking yellow light - sometimes it's permanently blinking, sometimes the lights are out so one way is blinking red and the other way is blinking yellow.

Now I am a cautious driver. And when I approach a blinking yellow I do so with caution - perhaps I'll slow from 35 to 25, maybe I'll give an extra look left and right as I approach the intersection, sometimes I'll have my foot near the brake in case of a problem. But it's a BLINKING YELLOW LIGHT. Why on earth do people COME TO A FULL STOP?!?

You come to a stop at a red light. And you come to a stop at a blinking RED light. But you don't stop at a blinking yellow light! Yet I've seen near-accidents, I've almost been in accidents myself, and I've heard honking and screaming and cursing. People don't seem to realize that by coming to a full stop you actually make the intersection MORE dangerous because you have drivers behind you seeing you stop for no reason, you have drivers in the intersection thinking everyone is going to stop, you have general confusion. And all this because for some reason residents of our fair city are compelled by some insane desire to halt, completely, at blinking yellow lights. I say again....

Nowhere else I've lived have I experienced this problem...can anyone explain it??

(I thank you all for giving me this opportunity to vent - this has driven me nuts for years and it feels good to finally have it off my chest )

[PedestriAnne]

I think that a lot of people have forgotten (or never learned) from the driver's ed manual that blinking yellow = proceed with caution, and blinking red = stop, then go.

Traffic lights are apparently programmed to blink yellow in parallel directions and red in the intersecting directions, but some people must think they blink yellow in all four directions at once.

[PKCorey]

They didn't pay attention in driving class? Mostly, most people just aren't used them so they have no idea how to act around them.

Near my house, they had to put up a sign at the flashing yellow due to the numerous serious accidents. I haven't heard the Rescue Air chopper flying over here in since they put the signs up so thats a solutions...

[Lagwagon113]

Well most "Atlanta drivers" are transplants. So we must get all the rejects from other parts of the country who can't drive. I just like how when negative behavior is noticed everyone conveniently forgets it's a city of transplants. That's my rant. What you describe regarding stopping at a flashing yellow light annoys me too.

[tomno00]

there are bad drivers everywhere....

[arjay57]

I'd guess it's because blinking yellow lights are unusual and people may think they indicate a malfunctioning traffic signal. That at least crosses my mind when I see a blinking yellow light.

What's the rush anyway? Surely a second or two isn't going to ruin anybody's day. I'd rather see drivers err on the side of caution.

[testa50]

The situation is indeed ridiculous. I've seen a police officer come to a stop at a blinking yellow and expect me to drive through the blinking red (I was heading north on Boulevard @ North, he was heading east).

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'd guess it's because blinking yellow lights are unusual and people may think they indicate a malfunctioning traffic signal. That at least crosses my mind when I see a blinking yellow light.

What's the rush anyway? Surely a second or two isn't going to ruin anybody's day. I'd rather see drivers err on the side of caution.

It's terribly dangerous to have ambiguity in the right of way. If it were all blinking red lights it would be okay; but the blinking yellow lights, with some drivers waving people from the side streets into oncoming traffic, is a recipe for disaster and death.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by testa50

It's terribly dangerous to have ambiguity in the right of way. If it were all blinking red lights it would be okay; but the blinking yellow lights, with some drivers waving people from the side streets into oncoming traffic, is a recipe for disaster and death.

I completely agree. Still, with that kind of uncertainty lurking, you can't blame people for being ultra-cautious.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I'd guess it's because blinking yellow lights are unusual and people may think they indicate a malfunctioning traffic signal. That at least crosses my mind when I see a blinking yellow light.

What's the rush anyway? Surely a second or two isn't going to ruin anybody's day. I'd rather see drivers err on the side of caution.

A flashing yellow light looks competely different from a traffic signal. If you can't tell the difference, you shouldn't be on the road in the first place .

Rush isn't the issue. Its safety.

The main issue, at least out here was people assumed that both sides of traffic would stop for the flashing yellow then they would precede to pull out on a 45mph road and bam....Rescue Air is on the way...

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by PKCorey

A flashing yellow light looks competely different from a traffic signal. If you can't tell the difference, you shouldn't be on the road in the first place .

It's not just what I think -- it's what other motorists perceive and how they behave as well. I need to be sure they know what they're doing before I go zipping through the intersection.

What if the guy to my right thinks I'm supposed to stop, and that it's his turn to go forward?