Most drivers encounter traditional stoplights on a daily or almost daily basis, so they’re unlikely to experience any confusion when it comes to navigating them. However, flashing lights aren’t particularly common, so it’s easy to forget what to do when you encounter one. Here’s a closer look at how to handle intersections that rely on flashing lights instead of traditional traffic signals.
Where Are You Most Likely to Encounter Flashing Lights At Intersections?
Most intersections with heavy traffic rely on traffic lights. However, some roads are so lightly traveled that installing full traffic lights would be impractical. Instead of a traffic light, these intersections may have a suspended flashing light that’s usually red or yellow.
Intersections like these are often found in rural areas or small towns. However, even in dense areas, you may run into flashing yellow or red lights. In the event of a power disruption or other issues, some traffic lights at regular intersections may blink red or yellow.
What To Do At A Flashing Yellow Light
When you see a flashing yellow light at an intersection, its meaning is a lot like that of a steady yellow light on a traffic signal. It’s telling you to slow down and proceed with caution. You also must yield to any traffic that has the right of way.
For instance, if you have a flashing yellow light but the cars on the intersecting road do not, you must yield to the cars on the intersecting road and only cross when the coast is clear.
Sometimes, these lights are installed in areas where speeding is a concern. They don’t unreasonably slow traffic by bringing everyone to a complete stop but encourage drivers to slow down and scan for hazards.
If you run into a stoplight that’s flashing yellow lights, the meaning is the same — you don’t have to come to a complete stop, but you do need to proceed with caution.
What To Do At A Flashing Red Light
This is where many drivers get confused. It’s easy to mix up flashing red and yellow lights or to assume they mean the same thing. However, a flashing red light works like a stop sign.
You must come to a complete stop, check your surroundings, and only proceed when it’s safe to do so. The same rules apply to regular traffic lights that are flashing red.
What happens if you reach an intersection controlled by a red flashing light and another car appears? If more than one car is present at the intersection, it effectively becomes a four-way stop:
- If two cars approach, the first one to arrive at the intersection has the right of way.
- If two cars arrive at the same time, the car on the right goes first.
- All vehicles must yield to cyclists and pedestrians.
- All vehicles must use turn signals to indicate where they’re going.
When dealing with flashing red lights or flashing yellow lights, it’s important to drive defensively. There’s always a possibility that another driver could get confused and fail to obey the traffic signal. Using a little extra caution may well prevent a car accident.
Brush Up On Traffic Signals: It Could Save Your Life!
For many drivers, it’s been decades since they took a road signs test. You probably won’t forget what a stop sign or yield sign means anytime soon. However, if there are signals like flashing lights you don’t encounter often, it’s easy to forget what to do.
Taking even a few minutes to review traffic signals and look up the ones you don’t understand can help you become a more confident driver and keep you and everyone else on the road safer.
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