Has the flashing yellow left turn signal made it to your state?

[Brandon]

I believe now its the new norm in Orange County, FL.

I know for certain that they exist at random intersections along FL 44 in Inverness, most of which are along the concurrency with US 41.

The first one is in front of the Old Courthouse.

You know, with these any road agency could assign part time left turn signals and the rest of the time normal operations.

The way it is set up, you could program the "RED" ball or arrow to stay on during rush hours or any peak travel times, and when traffic is light, flash the yellow turn arrows.  Delaware has had this for years, although maybe not the flashing arrow as this, but with a flashing red on left turn signal heads.  Of course, this is an alternative as well.  Just flash the red left turn arrow or ball when traffic is light.  Considering gas is expensive, how much of it do we waste for waiting for left turn signals when the opposing lanes are very clear.  Having a P/T left turn signal is wise.

That's how I noticed the FYAs being used in IDOT District 4 in the Peoria and Pekin areas.  Opposing traffic would get the green ball and arrow while the red ball was on with the FYA for the left turn.

[pctech]

I asked a Baton Rouge DPW signal rep. at an Earth day demonstration about using the  flashing turn arrows here. He said that it's under consideration.

Mark

[NWI_Irish96]

There is one of these in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at Veterans Pkwy and Town Center Blvd. 

[US 41]

There is one of these in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at Veterans Pkwy and Town Center Blvd.

I thought INDOT wasn't going to use it. It's sort of confusing. Not enough people in the USA understand what it means. They don't have any in Terre Haute yet and I hope they don't put any any here. They will cause wrecks.

[NWI_Irish96]

There is one of these in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at Veterans Pkwy and Town Center Blvd.

I thought INDOT wasn't going to use it. It's sort of confusing. Not enough people in the USA understand what it means. They don't have any in Terre Haute yet and I hope they don't put any any here. They will cause wrecks.

This particular location is not on a state highway, so it's not an INDOT maintained road. 

[US 41]

There is one of these in Jeffersonville, Indiana, at Veterans Pkwy and Town Center Blvd.

I thought INDOT wasn't going to use it. It's sort of confusing. Not enough people in the USA understand what it means. They don't have any in Terre Haute yet and I hope they don't put any any here. They will cause wrecks.

This particular location is not on a state highway, so it's not an INDOT maintained road.

I see 

[realjd]

There's one on US192 in downtown Melbourne now, and they're about to activate one on US1 here also.

[Duke87]

I found a flashing yellow right turn arrow today. It's at the intersection of Thomson Avenue and Van Dam Street in Queens.

I don't have a picture and on street view of the area (from 2009) it hasn't been installed yet, but it was a three lamp signal with red arrow, solid yellow arrow, and flashing yellow arrow (why a separate lamp for the flashing arrow from the solid arrow is anyone's guess)

There is a lot of pedestrian traffic at this intersection due to there being a community college and a high school nearby. The point of the flashing yellow arrow in this case seems to be to emphasize that turning traffic must yield to said pedestrians. It does not seem to be used in order to enable what would otherwise be a right on red (prohibited unless otherwise posted in NYC), but I didn't stick around and watch long enough to really catch everything because I had an appointment I had to get to.

[Big John]

(why a separate lamp for the flashing arrow from the solid arrow is anyone's guess)

That is a MUTCD requirement for a FYA.  Used to warn that the signal is about to turn red and may me hard to differentiate that fact if it was on the same lamp.

[M3019C LPS20]

I found a flashing yellow right turn arrow today. It's at the intersection of Thomson Avenue and Van Dam Street in Queens.

I don't have a picture and on street view of the area (from 2009) it hasn't been installed yet, but it was a three lamp signal with red arrow, solid yellow arrow, and flashing yellow arrow (why a separate lamp for the flashing arrow from the solid arrow is anyone's guess)

There is a lot of pedestrian traffic at this intersection due to there being a community college and a high school nearby. The point of the flashing yellow arrow in this case seems to be to emphasize that turning traffic must yield to said pedestrians. It does not seem to be used in order to enable what would otherwise be a right on red (prohibited unless otherwise posted in NYC), but I didn't stick around and watch long enough to really catch everything because I had an appointment I had to get to.

There are several intersections throughout New York City that currently use them. I am aware of two that are in use in Brooklyn. They merely indicate to motorists to yield to pedestrians when they make right turns (on flashing amber arrow). From what I understand, the traffic signals are synchronized with the main drag traffic signals as well, so they don't indicate the allowance of right turn on red.

In my opinion, I think the set-up is rather unnecessary altogether, since motorists should know to yield to pedestrians before they make right turns at intersections. You also have signs there that indicate to motorists to yield to pedestrians. What else could the city use to clearly emphasize this? Common sense, really.

Just my two cents.

[Ace10]

^ MUTCD requires signals over a turn lane where a straight-through movement is prohibited to have arrows only. If this FYA signal for right turns is above a right-turn-only lane, it should have arrows to satisfy that requirement.

That said, if there is a ton of pedestrian traffic, cars turning right would never be able to do so because they don't get a protected phase. But the two times I was in NYC, I don't remember seeing any signals with green right arrows, so I assume the traffic is able to turn right just fine without the protected phases.

[1995hoo]

^ MUTCD requires signals over a turn lane where a straight-through movement is prohibited to have arrows only. If this FYA signal for right turns is above a right-turn-only lane, it should have arrows to satisfy that requirement.

That said, if there is a ton of pedestrian traffic, cars turning right would never be able to do so because they don't get a protected phase. But the two times I was in NYC, I don't remember seeing any signals with green right arrows, so I assume the traffic is able to turn right just fine without the protected phases.

Even with a protected phase, it may not matter. See this Street View link to 18th & L in Northwest DC. (A red arrow is about to come on for the right turn.) Notice the sign saying you can turn right only on the green arrow cycle. When that right-turn arrow comes on, the pedestrians get a "Don't Walk" sign, but at busy times of day they almost universally ignore it, and they become IRATE when drivers try to take the right-of-way. It's a serious problem: Obviously forcing a vehicle—pedestrian conflict isn't safe, but if you don't do that, you'll never get around that corner.

I haven't seen all that many intersections over the years that restrict a right turn in this particular manner. A flashing yellow wouldn't help in this scenario because you'd still have the problem of not being able to get around the corner.

[Ned Weasel]

^ MUTCD requires signals over a turn lane where a straight-through movement is prohibited to have arrows only. If this FYA signal for right turns is above a right-turn-only lane, it should have arrows to satisfy that requirement.

That said, if there is a ton of pedestrian traffic, cars turning right would never be able to do so because they don't get a protected phase. But the two times I was in NYC, I don't remember seeing any signals with green right arrows, so I assume the traffic is able to turn right just fine without the protected phases.

Even with a protected phase, it may not matter. See this Street View link to 18th & L in Northwest DC. (A red arrow is about to come on for the right turn.) Notice the sign saying you can turn right only on the green arrow cycle. When that right-turn arrow comes on, the pedestrians get a "Don't Walk" sign, but at busy times of day they almost universally ignore it, and they become IRATE when drivers try to take the right-of-way. It's a serious problem: Obviously forcing a vehicle–pedestrian conflict isn't safe, but if you don't do that, you'll never get around that corner.

I haven't seen all that many intersections over the years that restrict a right turn in this particular manner. A flashing yellow wouldn't help in this scenario because you'd still have the problem of not being able to get around the corner.

I think the solution, for motorists wanting to turn right where it conflicts with heavy pedestrian traffic but no protected right turn exists, is to (1) pull out into the intersection, (2) wait for pedestrian traffic to clear, which probably happens shortly after the light turns red, and (3) complete the turn before the car traffic perpendicular to one's left goes straight.  It's not ideal, but I don't know of a better solution when a right turn from that direction comprises a minority of movements from that direction in the intersection.

(I was about to say, "I don't know of a better solution where a right turn is a minority movement," but then I realized "minority movement" usually means something else and that my minority usage of the term "minority movement" might confuse people, or worse.)

[Revive 755]

^ MUTCD requires signals over a turn lane where a straight-through movement is prohibited to have arrows only. If this FYA signal for right turns is above a right-turn-only lane, it should have arrows to satisfy that requirement.

The MUTCD has a very broad definition of a 'shared signal head' for a right turn signal, per figure 4D-18 (Page 481 or 49/98 of http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/part4.pdf). It appears some agencies are taking advantage of that definition to avoid installing FYA's for right turn movements.

[mjb2002]

Yes. It has made it to South Carolina. Less than eight hours after SCDOT unveiled the flashing yellow arrow, one was installed on FARROW RD in Columbia, close to SCDOT's main headquarters.

[NE2]

one was installed on FARROW RD in Columbia

It's almost like they deliberately chose that road.

[rickmastfan67]

North Carolina is really in love with them.  Saw tons of them in the Charlotte area while I was down there for the Coca-Cola 600.

[DSS5]

The only place I've seen it is where US 421 and 221 split on the way out of Boone.

[dfnva]

I saw something odd over the weekend in Maryland.  Flashing left-red-arrow with an auxiliary sign stating "Left Turn Yield after Stop." 

I believe it was here in North Bethesda -- http://goo.gl/maps/B3F7Q -- this must be a rather recent phenomenon as it's not depicted in the street view.

Does this exist anywhere else in MD?

-Dan

[realjd]

There are tons of them in the Morehead City, NC area (here for work). There's even a 3 segment FYA permissive-only signal which I've never seem anywhere else.

[deathtopumpkins]

I saw something odd over the weekend in Maryland.  Flashing left-red-arrow with an auxiliary sign stating "Left Turn Yield after Stop." 

I believe it was here in North Bethesda -- http://goo.gl/maps/B3F7Q -- this must be a rather recent phenomenon as it's not depicted in the street view.

Does this exist anywhere else in MD?

-Dan

Never seen it in MD, but Delaware has the same basic thing. At some intersections on roads like US 13, US 113, and DE 1, you can turn left on red after stopping, which is denoted by signs and double red signals. Ian Ligget has a YouTube video that shows the signals and sign:

[rickmastfan67]

The only place I've seen it is where US 421 and 221 split on the way out of Boone.

Visit Charlotte then.  There was almost one at every intersection!

[MASTERNC]

I saw something odd over the weekend in Maryland.  Flashing left-red-arrow with an auxiliary sign stating "Left Turn Yield after Stop." 

I believe it was here in North Bethesda -- http://goo.gl/maps/B3F7Q -- this must be a rather recent phenomenon as it's not depicted in the street view.

Does this exist anywhere else in MD?

-Dan

I've definitely seen them, although some are only part time (i.e. most of the time, they function as normal turn signals).  Examples of full-time signals include the ramp from MD 65 North to I-70 East in Hagerstown, and one on US 301 south of La Plata.

[Revive 755]

It appears there may be some flashing yellow arrows coming to Koke Mill Road on the west side of Springfield, IL, though it may be some other device I'm not thinking of. 

http://co.sangamon.il.us/Departments/RegionalPlanning/documents/Transportation/SATS/Documents/TIP/2013-2016/Ad%20Mod%206%20-%20City%20HSIP.pdf

[busman_49]

I get the feeling it'll be a while before they show up here in Ohio.  In fact, ODOT still doesn't want to acknowledge the requirement for red arrows.  They installed new signals on US-52 east of Cincinnati back in April, and the protected left still uses a red ball and "Left Turn Signal" / "Left on Green Arrow Only" signs.  It's not even LED either!

Saw my first one this past week in Dayton.  Pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/busman_49/sets/72157634131902168/