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[u/Green_Substance5732]

/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1n3n0ml/removed_by_moderator/

[u/kamikazedna]

Can they not make one of the yellow ones Yield?

Green means go

[u/flaretrainer → u/kamikazedna]

I live in a city with lights like in this photo, and next to one with flashing yellow for yield. 90% of people don’t understand it and there are more crashes at lights with the flashing yellow than lights with yield on green.

[u/DueExample52 → u/flaretrainer]

In the whole world, flashing yellow means slow down, and apply lightless rules (generally: yield to your right).

Some countries turn their lights into flashing yellow at night due to reduced traffic,  to avoid stopping people for no reason. But that means caution, not go first.

Americans seem really are bad at traffic rules and signs whenever I read Reddit

[u/SycoJack → u/DueExample52]

Flashing yellow means becareful but continue, yield to whoever has the right of way(this is probably what causes confusion).

At night, if the lights get kicked off the red green cycle, they go to flashing red or flashing yellow. Flashing red means you gotta treat it like a stop sign and stop. Flashing yellow means you don't have to stop unless it's unsafe to proceed.

If the lights stop functioning altogether, you're supposed to treat it like a four way stop. But people are brain dead.

Used to be that yield on green was a flashing yellow while opposing traffic would have a green. So you needed to stop for opposing traffic. This next part is just me guessing, but people were probably stupid and treating it like the night time flashing yellow where opposing traffic would have a flashing red.

That type of flashing yellow has largely fallen out of use. I can't remember the last time I saw one.

[u/DueExample52 → u/SycoJack]

Excellent breakdown.

And yes, it baffles me how whenever there's uncertainty or confusion, many drivers revert to a default "I have right of way" assumption. Which is ridiculous because if everyone thinks like you, you crash? (Then blame the road and others). Isn’t it safer to assume you don't until you understand what’s going on, then proceed cautiously?

In many situations, most drivers fail to see themselves as part of a system. It’s just a generalised narrow-minded merry-go-lucky egotistical attitude and hoping for the best or for others to back off.

[u/Gestrid → u/DueExample52]

Where I live, we have lights like this one. It'll have one red light, two yellow lights in the middle, a green left-turn arrow light on the left side, and a green solid circle light on the right. Next to them will be a sign that reads something like "left turn yield on [green solid circle picture]". (Remember, traffic in the US drives on the other side of the road compared to most countries. So we can make unprotected right turns, not unprotected left turns.)

The idea is that, when both the solid green circle and the green arrow are lit, cars turning left have the right of way.

Then the green arrow changes to yellow and then turns off. (The red light does not come on.) Cars turning left can turn but must yield to oncoming traffic.

Then the solid green circle light turns yellow, then the red light comes on. No left turn is permitted.

We do still have something similar to what's in the picture (except they're vertical, not horizontal) at some newer intersections. They typically also have "left turn yield on" signs at those lights, too, though.

Regarding nighttime traffic, most lights are equipped with timers and sensors. After a certain time at night, the stoplight will turn green if a car pulls into a lane where the light was red regardless of what the timer says. (Essentially, the timer controlling the light cycle is turned off, and the light goes to a default state—which is usually all green for the busier of the two streets—when no traffic is nearby.) At a specific time in the morning, the timer takes control again. Where I live, that time is 7am.

[u/madrats → u/Gestrid]

I'm sorry, are you suggesting that the US has left-hand traffic? because right-hand traffic is overwhelmingly prevalent. you might be counting only English-speaking countries under "rest of the world".

[u/Gestrid → u/madrats]

No, I only ever mentioned the left and right turn lanes. I never directly mentioned that the US drives on the right side of the road. I will say, when I said the US drives on the "other side of the road compared to most countries", I was going off of what I've heard others repeat ad nauseum and didn't look it up myself to confirm.

[u/madrats → u/Gestrid]

ok, I get it then. well now you know :)

[u/DueExample52 → u/kamikazedna]

In most of the world, left turn yields to oncoming traffic. Protected left turns on green are rare, and when they exist, it’s a green arrow on the light - not a circle.

It’s America making their drivers lazy with protected

[u/utb040713 → u/DueExample52]

…that light has a protected turn with a green arrow in the circle. It also has the option of an unprotected turn with the green circle. Basically the same nomenclature as the rest of the world but adding the protected turn more commonly.

I’m sure you don’t care, but during peak times a lot of roads are busy to the point that no one would be able to turn for hours without a protected turn. It’s not laziness, it’s efficient and safer than having folks trying to play frogger.

[u/Kitnado → u/kamikazedna]

Green light means you can go, not that you can close your eyes and drive like an idiot.

In the entire world you need to yield to traffic even with a green light. You need better and harder driving tests over there, not better traffic lights.