Stale Green, Flashing Yellow Arrow, and a Left-Turner
It is dusk and you are riding in an unfamiliar suburb at 35 mph. You approach a signalized intersection where your light has been green since you first saw it about 12 seconds ago. A pickup truck in the oncoming lane is waiting to turn left across your path; its left turn signal is on, and a sign beside its lane reads LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN. The left-turn lane is marked by a solid white line and a painted left-turn arrow. On the right, a pedestrian signal counts down from 8. The pavement is dry, but the sun has just dropped below the horizon and the signal heads are bright against the sky. You see no other vehicles in the intersection, and the road beyond is clear. Your lane is the rightmost through lane, and a car is following you closely.
1. What is a stale green light and how should it change your approach?
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A stale green is a light that has been green long enough that it could change before you clear the intersection. You first saw it green about 12 seconds ago, and you are still approaching at 35 mph, so you cannot assume it will stay green. The correct response is to cover the brakes, check the mirrors for the close-following car, and decide early whether you can stop comfortably or should proceed. You should not accelerate to beat the change.
The close follower matters: a sudden hard stop could cause a rear-end collision, while a late decision could leave you in the intersection when the light changes. At 35 mph you are covering roughly 51 feet per second, so the decision point arrives quickly. The safest approach is a slight speed reduction, a scan of the intersection, and a plan that does not depend on the light staying green.
2. What does the sign mean for the pickup, and why should you not assume it will yield?
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LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN means the pickup may turn left on a green ball only after yielding to oncoming through traffic and to pedestrians in the crosswalk. You are oncoming through traffic, so the legal right-of-way belongs to you if you proceed. The sign does not give the pickup a protected turn.
You still should not assume the driver will yield. A left-turning driver must judge your speed and distance, and a single headlight at dusk makes a motorcycle look farther away and slower than it is. The pickup's signal may also have been on since before you entered the approach. Cover the brakes, make eye contact if possible, and be ready to slow or stop. The painted left-turn arrow and solid white line show where the pickup is supposed to wait, but they do not guarantee the driver will stay there.
3. Identify the sign, signal, and marking cues in this approach and explain what you would do with them.
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The green light is stale, so it is a cue to prepare for a change rather than a guarantee of passage. The LEFT TURN YIELD ON GREEN sign tells you the pickup's left turn is permitted but not protected, so your through movement has priority-yet the pickup is the main hazard because it crosses your path. The solid white line and painted left-turn arrow define the turn lane and show where the pickup should be; watch whether its wheels stay behind that line. The pedestrian countdown of 8 means pedestrians may still be crossing, so a right-turn-on-red or a turn after the light change would need a crosswalk scan.
Your action is to reduce speed slightly, cover the brakes, scan the pickup's front wheels, and keep a path to stop short of the crosswalk. Do not swerve toward the right lane edge because the following car is close and the pedestrian signal is active. Proceed only when the pickup clearly waits and your path is confirmed.