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Ever witnessed a prolonged yellow light?

Started by epzik8, November 08, 2017, 09:57:46 PM

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jeffandnicole

Quote from: jakeroot on November 12, 2017, 01:31:01 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on November 12, 2017, 07:24:25 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on November 10, 2017, 02:45:21 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 10, 2017, 02:24:31 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on November 09, 2017, 08:26:07 PM
Quote from: kphoger on November 09, 2017, 05:01:27 PM
{b} 4-second flashing green, followed by 4-second yellow

{b} is a good middle-ground, but you'd still have people who will begin to slow when they see the flashing green. I'd also rather reserve the flashing green for pedestrian crossings (BC's adaptation), regardless if flashing green is allowed in the States.

A better idea, and something I see all the time in BC, is advanced "prepare to stop when flashing" signs. This is basically an MUTCD-compliant variation of {b}, but probably safer because it tells traffic from a ways out whether or not they're likely to make it (at the sign when it starts flashing?--you're good; still a good dozen meters away?--you're out), whereas a flashing green orb basically tempts drivers to run the light, because you're not sure how quickly you're going to reach the light (so speed up or prepare to stop).

My problem with the "prepare to stop when flashing" signs is that some of them just say "prepare to stop" and flash all the time.  So, when I see a sign like that, I'm never sure if I should even trust it or not.  There have been several times that I started to slow down at one of those signs, only to realize as I crossed the intersection at 10 mph under the limit (on a green light, with annoyed traffic passing me by) that there was no need to slow down at all because the lights always flash.  At least when the indication is part of the stoplight itself, you know darned well the light is about to change.

I don't think I've heard of that before. I know of two "signal ahead" signs that flash perpetually in my area (here and here), but they don't indicate to drivers that they are supposed to stop when they see the lights flashing (otherwise, drivers would forever be slowing for a light that isn't always changing). I do find these lights extremely annoying.

What I like are the signs that flash only when the lights are about to turn red, and when they're red. They're not strictly necessary on low-speed roads, but on high speed roads (such as the one I linked to in the first reply, or this one), they are extremely helpful. No surprising heavy braking.

MoDOT eliminates any ambiguity by having their signs read "SIGNAL AHEAD", with a black panel at the top of the sign with red LEDs forming the word "RED" that flashes, thus forming the full legend "RED SIGNAL AHEAD". When the signal is green, of course, the word "RED" remains dark.

Does the sign flash RED in advance of the signal turning red, or just when it's red? I'd appreciate a bit of a warning if on a high-speed road.

The sign usually starts flashing red at a point where if someone is going the speed limit (or so), that person will encounter the red flashing sign, then the red light.  If the sign isn't flashing red, then you should be able to get thru the light without a problem (unless the road is congested). 

NJ generally uses them on roads with a curve approaching the light, and I've seen them on roads with limits as low as 40 mph.



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