Flashing Yellow Left Arrow With a Green Circle
At 5:15 p.m. you approach a signalized intersection on a four-lane divided arterial in Baton Rouge. You are in the left-turn lane, and the signal facing you shows a flashing yellow left-turn arrow while the through lane has a solid green circle. The left-turn lane is separated from the through lanes by a solid white line that becomes dashed near the intersection. A white stop bar is painted across your lane, and a sign on the mast arm reads LEFT TURN YIELD ON FLASHING YELLOW. Oncoming traffic includes a pickup 180 feet away traveling at about 45 mph, and a pedestrian is stepping into the crosswalk on your left. You want to turn left into the near lane of the cross street.
1. What does the flashing yellow arrow permit, and what must you do before turning?
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The flashing yellow left-turn arrow is a permissive left-turn signal. It does not give you a protected turn. You may turn left only after yielding to oncoming vehicles close enough to be a hazard and to pedestrians in the crosswalk. The solid green circle for the through lanes does not protect your left turn; oncoming through traffic still has a green. The sign reinforces the same rule. Before turning, stop or creep to the stop bar, scan the crosswalk, and accept a gap that lets you clear the opposing lane without making anyone brake.
2. The pickup is 180 feet away at 45 mph. Estimate whether you have a safe gap and show your reasoning.
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At 45 mph the pickup covers about 66 ft/s (45 × 1.47). At 180 ft, it reaches you in 180 ÷ 66 ≈ 2.7 s. A left turn from a stopped position across one or two through lanes typically needs roughly 3–4 s to enter and clear, plus your perception-reaction time. That makes the gap too short even before adding wet or heavy-traffic factors. Add the pedestrian already stepping into the crosswalk on your left: you must not turn until that pedestrian clears. The correct decision is to wait.
3. Mid-turn, the arrow changes to solid yellow and then red. What should you do?
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If the arrow changes to a solid yellow arrow, it means the permissive phase is ending: stop before the stop bar if you can do so safely. If you have already entered the intersection and are waiting to complete the turn, do not stop in the middle of the intersection or reverse; complete the turn when oncoming traffic and pedestrians allow. If it changes to red before you enter, stay behind the stop bar. A red arrow controls the left-turn lane, so you must not turn until a lawful signal or direction permits it.