Why are lights in Atlanta timed in the middle of the night? (Marietta: utilities, safer)

[InternationalWaves]

Originally Posted by Gulch

You're part of the problem.

Problem?
Yes I will indeed make sure I'll keep myself alive. Maybe you end up in the news?
Flashing Yellow light does not mean keep on rolling at your speed!
Btw part of that is a joke. Did you read or just woke up crampy.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by Gulch

You're part of the problem.

I'm not sure it's universally known that if you see a flashing yellow light it means that people on the cross street have a red and that you can therefore safely proceed at your normal speed.

When I was growing up we were taught that yellow means slow down and be prepared to stop.

There needs to be more education on this.

[ATLTJL]

I believe even flashing yellow means to proceed with caution.

Otherwise, why wouldn't they just flash one side red and totally turn off the other?

I think the confusion stems from situations I know I've seen where all sides have blinking yellow or blinking red. In my mind, blinking red is the same thing as a stop sign. Blinking yellow means slow down and proceed with caution because some moron may think flashing red just means to be careful, not stop entirely no matter what.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I believe even flashing yellow means to proceed with caution.

Otherwise, why wouldn't they just flash one side red and totally turn off the other?

I think the confusion stems from situations I know I've seen where all sides have blinking yellow or blinking red. In my mind, blinking red is the same thing as a stop sign. Blinking yellow means slow down and proceed with caution because some moron may think flashing red just means to be careful, not stop entirely no matter what.

Blacked out lights are to be treated as a stop condition.

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by Mossberg

That's tragic. Michigan lefts are much more efficient and safer for moving large volumes of left-turners. It really cuts down on intersection light cycle times since a left turn arrow is no longer necessary. It also is safer due to almost eliminating T-bone accidents at intersections.

If there is heavy traffic on that main road, though, how does the turning person get across 3-4 lanes of traffic in just a couple hundred feet?

[Craziaskowboi]

What really makes my blood boil is when traffic signals are are programmed to turn yellow/red only when a vehicle is approaching it. I'll be driving on GA 316 at midnight, minding my own business in light traffic, and I'll see in the distance a vehicle waiting at a red light on the intersecting road, but my light will stay green -- right until I'm within 1,000' or so of the intersection, at which point it turns yellow, and since I'm too far away to get through the yellow but too close to stop comfortably, I'll have to slam on the brakes. Why didn't the light just turn red earlier, so it could turn green again by the time I get close to it?

I've even had this happen to me during the wee hours of the morning, when I'm the only vehicle on the main road. If a vehicle stops at the red light on the intersecting road and there's nobody around, then just change to let that vehicle go, and then change back so those on the main road don't have to stop. Or, if a vehicle is waiting at a red on the side road and another vehicle is approaching on the main road, just pause for five more seconds and let the vehicle on the main road through with the green before changing. A traffic signal doesn't have to stop a vehicle on the main road in order to do its job.

And I want to give a special "**** you" to Barrow County for rigging the signal at the intersection of GA 316 and Patrick Mill Road to give westbound traffic a green arrow even when they don't need it, forcing eastbound traffic on GA 316 to wait at a red light even longer while they watch westbound traffic continue on, and absolutely nobody turn left in front of them. A couple of years ago, Barrow County pulled a similar stunt with that signal, putting it on a firm cycle where both GA 316 and Patrick Mill Road were given 10-second greens before changing, regardless of the traffic volume. This brilliant move created a traffic jam in both directions on GA 316 at midnight, because the green wasn't long enough to keep traffic moving. Meanwhile, nobody passed through half the greens on Patrick Mill Road.

[PKCorey]

I miss my old intersection in Rockdale. It had a camera and weight sensors. As soon as you drove up to the intersection, the light would change for you.

I hate standards lights here or the intersection no matter what time, you can never get the light green at all.

[sedimenjerry]

I've noticed some intersections are on a delayed sensor during certain times. The one near our house would immediately change as soon as you pulled up but only before 6 am. After that it would wait maybe 15 seconds. Same with the ramp from RR Pkwy to Lville Hwy. Before 6 am it would change as soon as you pulled up. After that, you'd have to wait a bit. Though usually not too long. It's not like some intersections that are practically timed since there's always traffic waiting.

[goillini8]

Originally Posted by Mossberg

I'd take it further than that. In many areas up North, the lights start to flash yellow after a certain hour at night on major thoroughfares so you don't have to stop at all. The traffic on the lesser-traveled cross-road has a flashing red and has to stop before proceeding through the intersection. Obviously this only works if the cross street has minimal night time volume, such as exits from a subdivision or seldom traveled back road.

People would probably screw that up here since I often see people treat a flashing yellow as a 4-way stop even though the other side actually has the flashing red. A ton of education would be needed.

Michigan lefts would also be amazing to implement, but that would be pushing it due to lack of right-of-way space in most of the metro. It would mostly have to be OTP.

This is what I thought the solution would be. I had no idea that a lot of Atlantans wouldn't know what to do with flashing reds and flashing yellows. Is that really true? It's pretty common in cities at certain hours.

[SEAandATL]

I didn't know lights in Atlanta are timed. I call them "Virginia lights" because from my experience, at least in the Norfolk area it was like that. In the Jacksonville area most lights are dependent on traffic.