Cities thinking of banning red-light turns

No..... Not it's a horrible idea at times in real practice.

IF these flashing yellow lights are done during slow traffic times .. ok yeah it's a fine idea.



However, in my area these stpid flashing left turn yellow lights are allowed at all times of the day. Which is plain foolishness. Routine accidents happen because of these magic flashing yellow lights. Because morons make stupid decisions ROUTINELY...

As bad as the drivers in Northern Virginia are, I haven't seen any issues with them understanding what a flashing yellow arrow means. Because they're EVERYWHERE in Northern Virginia. Not many "left turn yield on green" intersections left, except in the cities (which maintain their own signals).

EDIT: I'm the sort of driver that will pull into the intersection as I'm waiting for a break in traffic to make my left turn. I've noticed that many Virginia drivers either don't do this or if they do, they'll BACK UP if the light changes before they have completed their left turn. Virginia drivers in general seem to be unaware of how to make a left turn without the help of a green arrow.
 
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No..... Not it's a horrible idea at times in real practice.

IF these flashing yellow lights are done during slow traffic times .. ok yeah it's a fine idea.



However, in my area these stpid flashing left turn yellow lights are allowed at all times of the day. Which is plain foolishness. Routine accidents happen because of these magic flashing yellow lights. Because morons make stupid decisions ROUTINELY...

I live within 15 miles of bbhero and I completely disagree with your perception of the flashing yellow light. How many times have you been the 2nd or 3rd car waiting in the left turn lane when the traffic light turns red right after the 1st car in front of you has entered the intersection awaiting a single oncoming car to pass so that he can turn?

My real world observation is that the intersections that have the yellow flashing arrow are the only ones without congestion and don't have any more accidents than any other intersection. If a "moron" lacks critical thinking skills and/or situational awareness to avoid turning left into oncoming traffic, he/she will do so regardless of whether the traffic signal is displaying a flashing yellow arrow or a solid green light.

I have seen significantly more accidents due to distractions from playing with cell phones than anything else. That violation should be vigorously enforced with massive fines if LEOs are serious about curtailing accidents.
 
Laws mean absolutely nothing without enforcement. In my local area, nothing is enforced...you should see the way the idiots drive around here...
 
I live within 15 miles of bbhero and I completely disagree with your perception of the flashing yellow light. How many times have you been the 2nd or 3rd car waiting in the left turn lane when the traffic light turns red right after the 1st car in front of you has entered the intersection awaiting a single oncoming car to pass so that he can turn?

My real world observation is that the intersections that have the yellow flashing arrow are the only ones without congestion and don't have any more accidents than any other intersection. If a "moron" lacks critical thinking skills and/or situational awareness to avoid turning left into oncoming traffic, he/she will do so regardless of whether the traffic signal is displaying a flashing yellow arrow or a solid green light.

I have seen significantly more accidents due to distractions from playing with cell phones than anything else. That violation should be vigorously enforced with massive fines if LEOs are serious about curtailing accidents.



The BUSY interactions right DOWN Monticello Ave right where I live and drive......

And that road is BUSY during the daytime...

Those **** flashing yellow lights cause accidents.... Routinely....

You don't know what you are talking about...

I have witnessed near misses right in front of me on Monticello Ave......

And yes many accidents... Happen because of them darn flashing yellow lights.

Look if you live in Newport News...

Ok fine.... Yeah they don't have them flashing yellow lights at say the intersection of Jefferson Ave and Denbigh Blvd.... Or at Jefferson Ave and Oyster Point Intersection.... Ok.... They don't have them there at those places.

But in Williamsburg on Monticello with Walmart, Traders Joe's, Freshmarket and Publix and many, many other stores on that stretch of Monticello Ave.....

It's a very, very busy road..... With a great combination of old people too old to be driving, tourist driving and younger morons aka my age 40s and 30s driving.

I don't mind the flashing yellow lights IF they were only functional after say 8 pm and until say 6 am. ... That would be fine in my area.


But not during BUSY times during the day.
 
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I plan routes to avoid left hand turns at the worst intersections … Many don’t …
 
When they started using the flashing arrows near us they also hung a sign on the pole about a paragraph long explaining the rules of engagement. They've taken alot of the signs down. The 2 or 3 seconds it took to process the reading was a distraction,adding to the madness.
 
When they started using the flashing arrows near us they also hung a sign on the pole about a paragraph long explaining the rules of engagement. They've taken alot of the signs down. The 2 or 3 seconds it took to process the reading was a distraction,adding to the madness.

All they have here is this sign:

1668960045244.jpg
 
The BUSY interactions right DOWN Monticello Ave right where I live and drive......

And that road is BUSY during the daytime...

Those **** flashing yellow lights cause accidents.... Routinely....

You don't know what you are talking about...

I have witnessed near misses right in front of me on Monticello Ave......

And yes many accidents... Happen because of them darn flashing yellow lights.

Look if you live in Newport News...

Ok fine.... Yeah they don't have them flashing yellow lights at say the intersection of Jefferson Ave and Denbigh Blvd.... Or at Jefferson Ave and Oyster Point Intersection.... Ok.... They don't have them there at those places.

But in Williamsburg on Monticello with Walmart, Traders Joe's, Freshmarket and Publix and many, many other stores on that stretch of Monticello Ave.....

It's a very, very busy road..... With a great combination of old people too old to be driving, tourist driving and younger morons aka my age 40s and 30s driving.

I don't mind the flashing yellow lights IF they were only functional after say 8 pm and until say 6 am. ... That would be fine in my area.


But not during BUSY times during the day.

Sounds to me that you don't think the concept of flashing yellow turn arrows is bad, but are not happy with how Williamsburg/JCC has chosen to implement them in your locale. It clearly should not be used in the New Town area where there is massive traffic during shopping hours and commuter rush hours. In addition, the commercial retail corridor that you described has many intersections (e.g., Monticello Ave and Humelsine Pkwy) where a vehicle must turn left across 4 lanes of oncoming traffic. Crossing against more than 2 lanes of oncoming traffic significantly increases the risk of a collision, especially combined with the lack of spatial awareness by a preponderance of today's drivers.

I think we can both agree that when applied correctly (i.e., low to moderate traffic areas and/or off hours), yellow flashing left turn arrows have their benefits.
 
This article mentions red-light right turns, but I'm sure it also includes red-light left turns between one-way streets. They might do it at specific intersections (I've seen quite a few in my area with no right turn on red signs) or possibly banning them outright throughout the city.


I've seen the weird showdown that happens when I'm at a red trying to beat out the green light and there's a pedestrian who is obviously looking to go forward as soon as the walk signal turns on. I'm trying to get in that red-light turn but it can be tricky judging when it will turn green.

I do rather like it at some all-way (including diagonal) pedestrian crossings where the vehicle traffic lights are completely red, and there's no walk signal on any green light.

I hate driving in Berkeley. People blatantly disregard traffic signs or signals. I go there often to visit my boyfriend. It's VERY stressful to drive there. At least once per visit someone blatantly ignores the laws of traffic and either runs a light with their car, their e-scooter, or walks across the street NOT EVEN LOOKING TO SEE IF THERE ARE ANY CARS. Far worse than SF honestly - in SF the cars are much more agressive but the pedestrians and e-scooter peeps are far more well behaved.

But, should I be surprised Berkeley is going to worsen traffic by banning right-on-red? No, because anti-car stuff is what Berkeley is all about, and it's infuriating. Of course I think walking, biking, e-scooters, and public transit are important, but all this is going to do is make stuff more difficult for not just regular people with cars but also truck drivers, small business owners, delivery vehicles, etc. and drive up costs. Additional time spent idling at red lights when a safe right on red would be viable would increase fuel consumption, engine wear of vehicles, and you have to either employ more drivers with more vehicles or you can do less work/deliveries per hour.

Not to mention how much it costs to install "no right on red" signs at every single intersection... Oh well, guess our gas tax will pay for it, not like they "fix the roads" with it. And who cares about small businesses anyway, our shoplifting epidemic will put them out of business soon enough. Our police do their best but they can't do something if the laws don't back them up.

I better not continue. But, anyway, I hope they don't implement this right on red ban.
 
Sounds to me that you don't think the concept of flashing yellow turn arrows is bad, but are not happy with how Williamsburg/JCC has chosen to implement them in your locale.

Are those VDOT-maintained roads or city/county maintained? VDOT seems to prefer protected-only left turns for roads with more than 2 lanes of oncoming traffic.
 
You can put up as many signs and make as many laws as you want - you can't fix stupid.

After pressing the button I stood at a flashing crosswalk sign in the hospital district earlier this week. At least 30 cars blew right through even though there obligated to stop until finally someone did.
 
I've always said, one of government's main functions is to save people from themselves, or at least try to.
I prefer Darwinism take its course except this would bring about too many "innocent" casualties.
 
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