The Yellow Light Doth Stump Us
Decatur Metro | May 23, 2009According to a smartly marketed GMAC Insurance Survey released just in time for Memorial Day weekend (because Memorial Day is primarily about honoring those who drive), Georgians rank 47th out of the 50 states in knowledge of traffic laws. And here’s my favorite line from the AJC article…
Questions on yellow lights and safe following distances apparently gave drivers the most trouble.
Ah flashing yellow lights, how we misunderstand you.
Instead of proceeding with caution, we stop. It may just be Southern courtesy run amok, but its still dangerous. The poor souls trapped at flashing reds on your periphery are forced to gauge whether you’re a courteous rule-breaker or an enraged rule-abider just jonesing to escape this backup of ignorance. They jerk forward, wary of your ignorance.
We must stop this madness! This…stopping!
Perhaps a potent ad campaign is the remedy. “When you stop at flashing yellow, the terrorists win.”
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They recently put a new traffic light at the intersection of 17th (Bishop St.) and Howell Mill and before they finished it was a flashing yellow light. I can’t count how many times people would stop and sit there while the other 3 lanes of traffic kept moving.
I’ll go you one better, DM: When you stop at flashing yellow, The Almighty puts a black mark beside your name in The Book of Life.
People stopping on flashing yellow is one of my pet peeves! It makes traffic jams so much worse, and it is dangerous.
It’s no wonder people are confused, though, since so many people ignore the law and stop at them.
I’ve also heard radio announcers tell people to treat all non-working traffic lights as 4-way stops, not bothering to make the distinction between lights that are totally out and lights that are flashing yellow.
DM speculates “It may just be Southern courtesy run amok…”
G. Blanston thinks that it may be Southern ignorance – especially when it comes to urban civility.
I would’ve thought that the meaning behind flashing yellow, flashing red, and no-lights-at-all intersections would be among the handful of rules and procedures that motorists do remember.
What gives me the most pause and sometimes disbelief is signs that say, “keep moving, don’t stop.”
I’ve only seen a few of them. Two are at parking entrances to malls (Perimeter Mall on the Hammond Drive side, near the Marta access light; one at the Northpoint Mall, at the Dillards entrance across from the Regal movie theatre). The other two are at highway exit ramps (400 N taking the Dunwoody/Sandy Springs north exit…going towards Perimeter Point; I don’t remember where the other one is).
I do not like latter two. I understand that some cars would never get off the off-ramp, but sometimes, seriously…”i can’t bloody keep moving if there are cars coming from the left at 60 mph.”
I admit to hesitating at a flashing yellow (in the case of traffic lights being out due to a power outage) because you never know when some idiot going across the intersection is going to ignore a flashing red. I’m not sure what those people don’t understand about a flashing red meaning stop, but I’ve seen it happen many times.
I know the flashing yellow means keep moving, but I slow down and am prepared to stop if need be. Sorry, I don’t want to be t-boned just to prove a point.
Thanks, Dem. I was one of those who wasn’t sure about what to do at a flashing yellow, so I looked it up in the Georgia driver license manual (found at http://www.dds.ga.gov/docs/forms/FullDriversManual.pdf on page 74). Supporting your post, it clearly states, “a yellow flashing light means you must slow down and exercise caution before proceeding through the intersection.”
This is compared to a flashing red light, which the manual states, “a red flashing light means you must stop completely, treat as you would a stop sign. Proceed with caution only after yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians and to other vehicles at the intersection.”
So for those drivers who think I’m a jerk for not stopping at a flashing yellow to let them go through the intersection…nyah. I’m following the law.
And I thought it was just my luck to always be behind the misinterpretation of the flashing yellow! What a relief. I would also go one to say that there needs be a sign at Atlanta Avenue and West Howard, because yes you can take a right on red. Many minutes wasted at that intersection.
The other one is on the Jimmy Carter exit off 85N I believe.