Flashing amber, a left turn and a pedestrian 15 m into the new road
It is 18:05 in November, dark and raining lightly. You are riding your A1 motorcycle in a Finnish town and approaching a crossroads where the traffic signals show a flashing amber light in every direction. You intend to turn left. Oncoming traffic has a car approaching at about 50 km/h, roughly 60 m away, showing no indicator. On the road you are about to enter, 15 m past the junction, there is a pedestrian crossing; a person with a rollator stands at the kerb facing the road, and has already looked at the traffic twice. There is no yield or stop sign visible on your approach, and the street to your right is a similar residential street with no sign either. A van is following close behind you. The surface shines with rain and the crossing markings are worn.
1. The signals show flashing amber in all directions and you want to turn left. What exactly does the flashing light mean, and whom must you give way to?
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Flashing amber means the signals are out of order - it is not an instruction to 'proceed with care' in place of the lights. The junction reverts to signs and markings: I look for yield or stop signs and stop lines on each approach. If none is visible, as here, the general rules apply: traffic from the right has priority, and a left-turning rider must give way to oncoming vehicles going straight or turning right. So I yield to the oncoming car, which at 50 km/h covers 60 m in about four seconds, and I also check the street on my right, because a car emerging from there would have priority over me. Only when both are resolved, and the pedestrian situation is clear, do I complete the turn.
2. How should the person with the rollator at the crossing 15 m into your new road affect your plan?
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A crossing I am about to drive over is my responsibility: I must give way to anyone on it or about to step onto it, and a person facing the road who has looked twice at traffic is showing the classic pre-step signal. Turning left puts me on a curved, wet line with the bike leaned over, and the crossing is only 15 m after the junction - too close to stop comfortably if I accelerate out of the turn. So I plan the turn slow enough to be able to stop before the crossing, complete the turn, straighten up, and then either stop or wave them across once the oncoming lane is also clear. Worn markings in rain make the crossing harder to see, so I am also scanning for anyone else waiting at the kerb.
3. The van behind is close and the road is wet. What do you do about it before and during the turn?
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A tailgater removes my ability to brake progressively, and on wet asphalt a sudden stop in front of a van is how riders get hit from behind. So I signal early and clearly, slow down early and gently over a longer distance - engine braking plus light, smooth brake pressure rather than one late grab - and keep the brake light on while waiting for a gap so the following driver can read my intention. I position for the turn in good time and take it without swinging into the oncoming lane. If the van is still glued to me at the junction, the answer is patience, not speed: letting it sit behind me through the turn is far safer than rushing into the oncoming car's path to get out of its way.