Traffic Light - Turning Signals and Rules

Turning Signals and Rules

In some instances, traffic may turn left (in left-driving jurisdictions) or right (in right-driving jurisdictions) after stopping at a red light, providing they give way to the pedestrians and other vehicles. In some places that generally disallow this, a sign next to the traffic light indicates that it is allowed at a particular intersection. Conversely, jurisdictions that generally allow this might forbid it at a particular intersection with a "no turn on red" sign, or put a green arrow to indicate specifically when a turn is allowed without having to yield to pedestrians (this is usually when traffic from the perpendicular street is making a turn onto one's street and thus no pedestrians are allowed in the intersection anyway). Some jurisdictions allow turning on red in the opposite direction (left in right-driving countries; right in left-driving countries) from a one-way road onto another one-way road; some of these even allow these turns from a two-way road onto a one-way road. Also differing is whether a red arrow prohibits turns; some jurisdictions require a "no turn on red" sign in these cases. A study in the State of Illinois (a right-driving jurisdiction) concluded that allowing drivers to proceed straight on red after stopping, at specially posted T-intersections where the intersecting road went left only, was dangerous. Proceeding straight on red at T-intersections where the intersecting road went left only used to be legal in Mainland China, with right-hand traffic provided that such movement would not interfere with other traffic, but when the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China took effect on 1 May 2004, such movement was outlawed. In some other countries, the permission is indicated by a flashing yellow arrow (cars do not have to stop but must give way to other cars and pedestrians).

Another distinction is between intersections that have dedicated signals for turning across the flow of opposing traffic and those that do not. Such signals are called dedicated left-turn lights in the United States and Canada (since opposing traffic is on the left). With dedicated left turn signals, a left-pointing arrow turns green when traffic may turn left without opposing traffic and pedestrian conflict, and turns red or disappears otherwise. Such a signal is referred to as a "protected" signal if it has its own red phase; a "permissive" signal does not have such a feature. Three standard versions of the permissive signal exist: One version is a horizontal bar with five lights – the green and yellow arrows are located between the standard green and yellow lights. A vertical 5-light bar holds the arrows underneath the standard green light (in this arrangement, the yellow arrow is sometimes omitted, leaving only the green arrow below the solid green light, or possibly an LED based device capable of showing both green and yellow arrows within a single lamp housing). Some newer LED turn arrows seen in parts of Canada are capable of multicolored animation. Such lights will often display a flashing and animated green or yellow arrow when the dedicated turn is allowed, but then transform into a red arrow on a white background with a red line through it, emphasising that the turn is no longer allowed. These lights will also often have the words "NO TURN" displayed, or an explanatory reason why the turn is not allowed, such as "TRAIN" in the case of a rail or light rail crossing. A third type is known as a "doghouse" or "cluster head" – a vertical column with the two normal lights is on the right side of the signal, a vertical column with the two arrows is located on the left, and the normal red signal is in the middle above the two columns. Cluster signals in Australia and New Zealand use six signals, the sixth being a red arrow that can operate separately from the standard red light. In a fourth type, sometimes seen at intersections in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, there is no dedicated left-turn lamp per se. Instead, the normal green lamp flashes rapidly, indicating permission to go straight as well as make a left turn in front of opposing traffic, which is being held by a steady red lamp. (This "advance green," or flashing green can be somewhat startling and confusing to drivers not familiar with this system. This also can cause confusion amongst visitors to British Columbia, where a flashing green signal denotes a pedestrian controlled crosswalk.) Another interesting practice seen at least in Ontario is that cars wishing to turn left that arrived after the left turn signal ended can do so during the yellow phase, as long as there is enough time to make a safe turn.

A flashing yellow arrow, which allows drivers to make left turns after giving way to oncoming traffic, is becoming more widespread in the United States, particularly in Oregon and Las Vegas, Nevada. In the normal sequence, a protected green left-turn arrow will first change to a solid yellow arrow to indicate the end of the protected phase, then to a flashing yellow arrow, which remains flashing until the standard green light changes to yellow and red. These generally take the form of four signal sections (green, yellow, yellow arrow, red). On some newer signals, notably in the city of Bend, the green and flashing yellow arrows emanate from the same light section through the use of a dual-color LED array, while the solid yellow arrow is mounted above it. In Las Vegas, the arrow turns flashing yellow from a red light, before turning red again.

Generally, a dedicated left-turn signal is illuminated at the beginning of the green phase of the green-yellow-red-green cycle. This is called a leading turn. This allows left-turn traffic, which often consists of just a few cars, to vacate the intersection quickly before giving priority to vehicles traveling straight. This increases the throughput of left-turn traffic while reducing the number of drivers, perhaps frustrated by long waits in heavy traffic for opposing traffic to clear, attempting to make an illegal left turn on red. A dedicated left-turn signal that appears at the end of the green phase is called a lagging turn. If there is no left-turn signal, the law requires one to yield to oncoming traffic and turn when the intersection is clear and it is safe to do so. Nevertheless, it is increasingly and disturbingly common in at least the U.S. to see drivers who do not yield in the absence of a dedicated signal, cutting off traffic that has right-of-way and is starting to head across the intersection. In the U.S., many older inner-city and rural areas do not have dedicated left-turn lights, while most newer suburban areas have them. Such lights tend to decrease the overall efficiency of the intersection as it becomes congested, although it makes intersections safer by reducing the risk of head-on collisions and may even speed up through traffic, but if a significant amount of traffic is turning, a dedicated turn signal helps eliminate congestion.

Some intersections with permissive turn signals occasionally have what is known as "yellow trap", "lag-trap", or "left turn trap" (in right-driving countries). This refers to situations when left-turning drivers are trapped in the intersection with a red light, while opposing traffic still has a green. In British Columbia, the law addresses this problem by giving a left-turning driver already in an intersection the right-of-way to make the turn once the intersection is otherwise clear, regardless of the traffic light state.

For example, an intersection has dedicated left-turn signals for traffic traveling north. The southbound traffic gets a red light so northbound traffic can make a left turn, but the straight-through northbound traffic continues to get a green light. A southbound driver who had entered the intersection earlier will now be in a predicament, since they have no idea whether traffic continuing straight for both directions is becoming red, or just their direction. The driver will now have to check the traffic light behind them, which is often impossible from the viewing angle of a driver's seat. This can also happen when emergency vehicles or railroads preempt normal signal operation. In the United States, signs reading "Oncoming traffic has extended green" or "Oncoming traffic may have extended green" must be posted at intersections where the "Orange trap" condition exists.

Although motorcycles and scooters in most jurisdictions follow the same traffic signal rules for left turns as do cars and trucks, some places, such as Taiwan, have different rules. In these areas, it is not permitted for such small and often hard-to-see vehicles to turn left in front of oncoming traffic on certain high-volume roads when there is no dedicated left-turn signal. Instead, in order to make a left turn, the rider moves to the right side of the road, travels through the first half of the intersection on green, then slows down and stops directly in front of the line of cars on the driver's right waiting to travel across the intersection, which are of course being held by a red light. There is often a white box painted on the road in this location to indicate where the riders should group. The rider turns the bike 90 degrees to the left from the original direction of travel and proceeds along with the line of cars when the red light turns green, completing the left turn. This procedure improves safety because the rider never has to cross oncoming traffic, which is particularly important given the much greater likelihood of injury when a cycle is hit by a car or truck. This system (called a "hook turn") is also used at many intersections in the CBD of Melbourne, Australia, where either or both streets carry tramways. This is done so right-turning vehicles (Australia drives on the left) do not block the passage of trams. The system is being extended to the suburbs.