{"id":14503,"date":"2026-06-12T13:32:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503"},"modified":"2026-06-12T13:32:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:32:19","slug":"why-is-there-a-yellow-border-on-some-traffic-signals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503","title":{"rendered":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Q:<\/strong> I\u2019ve noticed lately that there are several intersections where the traffic lights have a yellow border around them. What is the purpose? I see these mostly in Los Angeles County.<\/p>\n

Read more OC Bird of Prey Center hopes to add large enclosure to give more raptors flight<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013 Mark Ehlers, Whittier<\/em><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> They\u2019re called reflective backplates. Caltrans began putting them up in 2019, and that agency alone had designs on outfitting 5,500 intersections throughout California with the devices.<\/p>\n

Honk has seen them in Arizona, too, and there are more and more of them around these parts.<\/p>\n

Seemingly, there is an increasing number of power outages, including those when a utility turns the electricity off in a swath to reduce the chance of its equipment throwing a spark during a windstorm, igniting a wildfire. And these babies make it easier to see darkened traffic signals at night, with headlight beams bouncing off of their yellow, reflective material.<\/p>\n

Many traffic signals have batteries to back them up, but at some point that juice runs out.<\/p>\n

Of course, when a traffic signal is out, the intersection is to be treated by drivers as a stop sign.<\/p>\n

Federal officials say reflective backplates significantly reduce the number of collisions, and T-bones can be deadly.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

These yellow-bordered signals are deployed near woodsy stretches or California chaparral, where shutdowns are more likely to prevent a wildfire.<\/p>\n

But Honk has seen new ones in an urban stretch of Long Beach, too.<\/p>\n

Q:<\/strong> I turned onto a street yesterday and ended up behind a car with a license plate that had an all-yellow background with \u201cSTUDENT DRIVER\u201d in large, black letters. This was the only markings on the plate. Is that legal?<\/p>\n

Read more Trump is raising expectations that this time he really will close deal with Iran to wind down war<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2013 Bill Howes, Seal Beach<\/em><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

A:<\/strong> Honk thought to his handsome self, \u201cNah, not by itself, there has to be valid plates on that car.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he decided he\u2019d better check, in case there was some hidden passage in the law. He rang up Lt. Matt Gutierrez,<\/strong> who is in the California Highway Patrol\u2019s headquarters in the Sacramento area.<\/p>\n

Not only is the driver missing a valid plate, it turns out that a student-driver one shouldn\u2019t be on the car at all.<\/p>\n

If not an official plate, it can\u2019t \u201cever be displayed on a vehicle,\u201d the lieutenant said later in an email.<\/p>\n

The car\u2019s owner should have gone with a \u201cstudent driver\u201d bumper sticker and a real license plate.<\/p>\n

HONKIN\u2019 FACT:<\/strong> In Lake Worth, Florida, Kathleen Thomas<\/strong> got pulled over in February for having, a deputy from the Palm Beach Sheriff\u2019s Office told her, a cellphone in her right hand. The 36-year-old held up her right arm \u2014 which ends at the elbow \u2014 and good-naturedly laughed.<\/p>\n

Thomas was still cited, but as the court date got closer, and after she obtained the cop\u2019s bodycam video and posted it, getting millions of views, the deputy requested that the case be dismissed. (Source: CBS News.)<\/p>\n

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com\/tag\/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk<\/p>\n

Read more Where Trump has lost support with independents, according to polling<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They are quite noticeable — and that is the point.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"They are quite noticeable -- and that is the point.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503\"},\"wordCount\":560,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503\",\"name\":\"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=14503#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"They are quite noticeable -- and that is the point.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals?","datePublished":"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503"},"wordCount":560,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp","articleSection":["Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503","name":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals? - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-12T13:32:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0cbff7a288c73ebbd8feb33aa7068727.webp","width":1024,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=14503#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why is there a yellow border on some traffic signals?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}