Flashing Yellow May Come to Texas Roadways

I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...

---
Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.

The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram reported Monday.

A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
turning left, federal officials say.

A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history books.

The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.

Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
numerous other attractions and businesses.

Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
oncoming traffic.

The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
[...]

Associated Press via NBC Dallas

Full Article:
http://www.nbcdfw.com/traffic/transi...114931209.html
http://tinyurl.com/4clsqsh

On 2011-02-01, John S > wrote:
> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>
> ---
> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>
> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>
> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
> turning left, federal officials say.
>
> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history books.
>
> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>
> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
> numerous other attractions and businesses.

> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
> oncoming traffic.
>
> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
> [...]

Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.

On 1/31/2011 9:15 PM, John S wrote:
> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>
> ---
> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>
> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>
> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
> turning left, federal officials say.
>
> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history books.
>
> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>
> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
> numerous other attractions and businesses.
>
> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
> oncoming traffic.
>
> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
> [...]
>
> Associated Press via NBC Dallas
>
> Full Article:
> http://www.nbcdfw.com/traffic/transi...114931209.html
>
> http://tinyurl.com/4clsqsh
>
There are a number od different light and signal combination now.
Generally no one is confused except if they travel cross country and run
into a new code of flashing lights or light combinations. It's sill and
uncalled for. If it keeps up you'll need a code book.

Richardson and Tyler already have blinking yellow arrows at several
intersections, and both have indicated more are on the way. As for
the rest of the state, it's a big state, and there are many drivers
around to still learn the ropes. If the rollout happens elsewhere
like in Richardson and Tyler, I'd be quire surprised. I see the
blinking yellow arrow having the same effect on most drivers around TX
as the new Michigan-left and SPUI intersections are probably having
right now on drivers in the Plano area.

On Tue, 1 Feb 2011 02:38:27 +0000 (UTC), Brent
> wrote:

>On 2011-02-01, John S > wrote:
>> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
>> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
>> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>>
>> ---
>> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
>> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>>
>> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
>> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
>> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>>
>> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
>> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
>> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
>> turning left, federal officials say.
>>
>> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
>> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
>> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history books.
>>
>> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
>> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
>> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>>
>> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
>> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
>> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
>> numerous other attractions and businesses.
>
>> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
>> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
>> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
>> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
>> oncoming traffic.
>>
>> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
>> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
>> [...]
>
>Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
>unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.
>


Instead of training people to turn left properly (when safe) they will
spend all the money to install these new lights and then train them as
to what the new lights mean. If you asked them why they don't just
train people to start with they would say "we gots no money for that"
but somehow they gots money for these new lights and the needed public
awareness programs. This is another perfect example of the
bureaucracy justifying itself by dreaming up new, not needed
"improvements" and then selling them to people who haven't a clue.

"Brent" > wrote in message
...
> On 2011-02-01, John S > wrote:
>> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
>> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
>> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>>
>> ---
>> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
>> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>>
>> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
>> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
>> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>>
>> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
>> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
>> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
>> turning left, federal officials say.
>>
>> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
>> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
>> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history
>> books.
>>
>> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
>> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
>> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>>
>> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
>> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
>> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
>> numerous other attractions and businesses.
>
>> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
>> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
>> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
>> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
>> oncoming traffic.
>>
>> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
>> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
>> [...]
>
> Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
> unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.

Those stupid flashing yellow lights have invaded my part of NC. The state
can't afford to fix pot holes, but they have plenty of money to take out
exisitng traffic control lights that have been working for years and install
something that confuses people.

Ed

On Wed, 2 Feb 2011 07:50:04 -0500, "C. E. White"
> wrote:

>
>"Brent" > wrote in message
...
>> On 2011-02-01, John S > wrote:
>>> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
[...]
>>>
>>> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
>>> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
[...]
>> Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
>> unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.
>
>Those stupid flashing yellow lights have invaded my part of NC. The state
>can't afford to fix pot holes, but they have plenty of money to take out
>exisitng traffic control lights that have been working for years and install
>something that confuses people.


I wholeheartedly agree -- saw my first flashing yellow arrow at an
intersection while travelling in Oregon a month ago; Distracting and
confusing. Flashing yellow lights (balls usually, but I've seen
arrows) have been used for decades to mean "you have the right of way,
but use caution; conflicting traffic has a flashing red meaning stop
and yield". They're all over the place, either permanent with
non-all-way stop signs at dangerous intersections (those are most
likely just balls), or at a regular signal late at night (usually not
with a yellow arrow flashing, but I think I've seen them at special
intersections).

This makes a confusing, inconsistent, exception where the flashing
yellow arrow means "yield because opposing traffic has a green"; I
find it hard to believe that these really result in lower crash rates
than a simple "Left Turn Yield on O" (O = a green circle) sign next to
the leftmost light, which also shouldn't really be necessary but is a
good reminder where most other intersections are protected lefts.

Josh

On 2011-02-02, C. E. White > wrote:
>
> "Brent" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 2011-02-01, John S > wrote:
>>> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
>>> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
>>> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>>>
>>> ---
>>> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
>>> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>>>
>>> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
>>> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
>>> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>>>
>>> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
>>> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
>>> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
>>> turning left, federal officials say.
>>>
>>> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
>>> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
>>> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history
>>> books.
>>>
>>> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
>>> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
>>> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>>>
>>> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
>>> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
>>> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
>>> numerous other attractions and businesses.
>>
>>> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
>>> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
>>> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
>>> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
>>> oncoming traffic.
>>>
>>> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
>>> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
>>> [...]
>>
>> Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
>> unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.
>
> Those stupid flashing yellow lights have invaded my part of NC. The state
> can't afford to fix pot holes, but they have plenty of money to take out
> exisitng traffic control lights that have been working for years and install
> something that confuses people.

political allocation of resources at its finest.

On 2/2/2011 3:18 PM, Brent wrote:
> On 2011-02-02, C. E. > wrote:
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> On 2011-02-01, John > wrote:
>>>> I can't say that I've ever been confused by what a green ball light
>>>> means, but apparently some drivers are, according to this article. That
>>>> being the case, I'm not sure this helps the easily confused...
>>>>
>>>> ---
>>>> Drivers making left turns at busy intersections across Texas could get
>>>> some colorful, flashing help to stay safe.
>>>>
>>>> The Federal Highway Administration wants cities and states to begin
>>>> replacing solid green lights with flashing yellow arrows, the Fort Worth
>>>> Star-Telegram reported Monday.
>>>>
>>>> A solid green light sometimes confuses drivers into thinking they always
>>>> have the right of way, in spite of other traffic. The flashing yellow
>>>> arrow makes it clearer that drivers must proceed cautiously before
>>>> turning left, federal officials say.
>>>>
>>>> A pilot project is planned for Arlington, host of Sunday's Super Bowl at
>>>> Cowboys Stadium between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh
>>>> Steelers, but not until long after the game is in the sports history
>>>> books.
>>>>
>>>> The pilot project will involve selected intersections, said Paul
>>>> Iwuchukwu, Arlington traffic engineer. The most likely candidates are
>>>> major north-south routes, such as Collins and Cooper streets.
>>>>
>>>> Arlington, a city of nearly 400,000 located midway between Dallas and
>>>> Fort Worth, is a tourist draw along Interstate 30 as the home of the
>>>> Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers Ballpark, Six Flags Over Texas, and
>>>> numerous other attractions and businesses.
>>>
>>>> Motorist wanting to turn left would first get a green arrow, as they
>>>> currently do, giving them the right of way. Under the plan, the green
>>>> arrow would switch to a steady yellow arrow, then a flashing yellow
>>>> arrow, giving motorists permission to turn left after yielding to
>>>> oncoming traffic.
>>>>
>>>> The flashing yellow arrow would then change to a steady yellow arrow,
>>>> and then a steady red arrow, when turning is no longer permissible.
>>>> [...]
>>>
>>> Holy confusion.... more complexity to cure a problem of people being
>>> unclear on the concept of how traffic lights work.
>>
>> Those stupid flashing yellow lights have invaded my part of NC. The state
>> can't afford to fix pot holes, but they have plenty of money to take out
>> exisitng traffic control lights that have been working for years and install
>> something that confuses people.
>
> political allocation of resources at its finest.
>
>
You hit the nail on the head. NHTSA just like the EPA is more about
politics and agendas.Reward the supporters too. It's been that way for
several Administrations.
Spending billions that need directed to balance budgets.
Ethanol, turning cars into appliances, dictating how rolling closets are
built, billions on committing the worse crime of the century: seat belt
warning legal consequences, smaller sign lettering, larger sign
lettering, code signal lights,CAMERAS ON EVERY STRETCH AND INTERSECTION
OF ROADS and the people and computers to watch everyone, and so on.