Flashing yellow arrows are coming
April 04, 2014
Joplin/Duquesne - Southwest Missouri drivers soon will encounter a new type of traffic signal indication - flashing yellow left-turn arrows -- with the first installation in Joplin along Route 66 (7th Street) between Range Line and Route 249, the Missouri Department of Transportation said. Under a change in federal traffic regulations, Missouri is gradually switching to flashing yellow left-turn arrows at intersections which now have a circular green light for yielding left turns.

Use of flashing yellow left-turn arrows is considered an improvement to safety at signalized intersections, according to MoDot. They say it provides a more direct message of caution to drivers to yield to oncoming traffic than does the circular green light.

MoDOT/Southwest Traffic Engineer Joe Rickman said national studies show "the flashing yellow left-turn arrow had fewer crashes than the traditional green ball yielding left-turn indication."

Seven traffic signals will be modified and the new flashing yellow left-turn arrows are scheduled to be activated by the end of April, depending on weather conditions.

How It Works

A similar signal was installed at Route 39 and I-44 in Mount Vernon last December. While that was the first location in MoDOT's Southwest District, MoDOT is already using this type of left-turn indication elsewhere in Missouri, including Lebanon. The first ones in the state were installed in the St. Louis area starting in October 2006.

Remember: A flashing yellow left-turn arrow means you must yield to oncoming through-traffic and turn left cautiously only when you see an opening in the traffic coming toward you.

For more information go here.

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