Q: I travel all over Orange County and can get frustrated by those dedicated left-turn signals. So many times they are red with no oncoming traffic. Then many times it turns green as oncoming traffic arrives. But I noticed that Fullerton allows a left turn with a yellow signal allowing a cautious turn when there is no oncoming traffic. Why don’t more cities have this option?
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– David Mitchell, Tustin
A: Irvine put them in, too, a half-dozen or so years ago, and so did other cities across the country. Monterey Park has ’em as well.
It comes down to preference.
Some cities just prefer staying with the old-school green ball — with those taking left turns knowing they can go when it is all clear.
Anaheim is one of those.
“Both (lights) try to find the same goal, to improve traffic flow,” said Mike Lyster, a city spokesman. “There are strong cases to be made for either. … We have continued with the green ball for consistency.”
Not using the yellow flashing arrows does not restrict the chance to turn left in Anaheim, he said, as drivers can do the same on a green light.
Because Anaheim, with Disneyland, the Angels and other nifty attractions, pulls in a lot of visitors, the city wants to ensure those from far away are not confused by its traffic lights.
Two decades ago or so, Fullerton was part of a national test of those yellow-flashing signals, which try to tell drivers: “You can make a left here, just be real careful.”
Then, in late 2009, the feds gave approval to them, and that style of traffic signal started spreading somewhat throughout the country.
Some such traffic signals are accompanied by a sign that says, “Left turn YIELD on flashing” and has a yellow arrow illustration.
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At intersections with a different signal head for the left-turn lane than the one for the other lanes, some traffic engineers find the yellow flashing arrows less confusing for drivers and believe they promote more traffic flow.
Q: Hi Honk. Many times, when approaching a red light, I want to turn left. But the left-turn-only lane is full, and I end up blocking a lane of traffic. I worry that an inattentive driver is going to slam into me. This does not seem particularly safe. But is it legal? And if an accident were to ensue, who would be at fault?
– Mike Foy, Westminster
A: Under California law, that would be a violation, said Sgt. Alan Aoki of Westminster’s finest.
“In a nutshell … no person shall bring a vehicle to a complete stop upon a highway so as to impede or block the normal flow of traffic,” he said in an email. “As far as being at fault if a collision occurs with this situation, that would depend on the totality of the circumstances, i.e. other drivers’ actions preceding the collision, other contributing factors. …
“My suggestion would be to proceed to the next signal and make either a legal and safe left turn or a legal and safe U-turn to get back on track.”
HONKIN’ FACT: From Los Angeles City Hall, it is 2,777 miles to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at ground zero, a 42-hour drive, much of it on the 40 Freeway, according to Google Maps.
So far, and yet so close.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at [email protected]. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
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