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By Jackie Valley (contact) 
Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 | 2 a.m.
Flashing yellow turn arrow signals, such as this one, are being installed the Las Vegas Valley.
Move over red and green. There’s a new traffic signal in town, and it’s yellow.
And if you drive, chances are you’ve encountered it.
The Nevada Department of Transportation installed 165 flashing yellow arrow turn signals last year at intersections across Southern Nevada, said Damon Hodge, a spokesman for NDOT. Yellow signals will be added in Las Vegas and Mesquite in the spring, he said.
NDOT’s website touts it as a “better left-turn signal,” which is safer and more efficient. Authorities said the flashing yellow arrow means motorists can cautiously enter an intersection, but they must yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians before making a left turn.
Metro Police Sgt. Todd Raybuck said the traffic signal is new to Southern Nevada and has led to some confusion among drivers. Residents have called city leaders with questions, he said.
Police also are investigating whether a flashing yellow arrow was a contributing factor in an accident this month that killed a 3-year-old girl, Raybuck said. The fatal crash happened at Eastern Avenue and Pebble Road.
“Because of that, we wanted to be sure people continue to be aware” of the new signals, said Raybuck, who works in Metro’s traffic bureau.
Fewer than a dozen flashing yellow arrows appeared at intersections in 2010 and 2011 under a pilot program launched by the Regional Transportation Commission and NDOT, Hodge said. Construction on the others began in 2012.
Flashing yellow arrows prompt drivers to check for oncoming traffic, unlike circular green signals, which motorists automatically associate with the word "go," Raybuck said.
What does it matter. People don't obey any of the traffic laws in this town. The real funny one is the one banning hand held cell phones and texting. It is as if they never wrote that one. If laws can't be enforced or police refuse to enforce them, then why write them. The lawyers don't mind though! Big business for the vultures.
I've had two instances where some idiot pulls a left right in front of without slowing down and coming within seconds of smashing into him at 45 mph.
I think there will be more accidents because unfortunately there are more dumb people driving then smart ones.
Giving people less signals to stop is not a good thing.
Just put in traffic camera's like they go in Chicago blow a light, stop sign or illegal right turn the cam snaps your pix and weeks later they send you the fine and the pictures of you doing it.Cant get out of those tickets either, proof is the pix of you actually doint it.Chicago had cost of the cameras paid for in one year.Guess we do need some Big brothers watching.
There was nothing wrong with "Left Turn Yield On Green," and it was pretty self-explanatory, so why fix (or at least they think they're fixing it) what wasn't broke to begin with? I absolutely abhor these new lights.
And you're right, jazzy13, about the cell phone laws. I don't use my phone when I'm behind the wheel but my blood boils when I see some idiot on the road using theirs.
Yellow arrow does not mean speed up, nor does a yellow light, it means caution, slow down, yield the right away, and prepare to stop. Drivers ignore the yellow and many more believe it means speed up the light is about to change. Change your habit, see a yellow prepare to stop is the best thing you can do for yourself and other drivers.
The change has actually made the flashing yellow far more common than the old yield-on-greens.
If you turn often, you've probably noticed.
Never be the first thru an intersection that just turned green because invariably someone is trying to get thru that intersection and blows thru the red light...t-boning your car. If I'm stopped at a light and it turns green, the guy next to me can go thru first. Long lights turn people into redlight runners.
I believe I've seen these in Phoenix also. Since it means basically the same as no arrow at all (at least if the light is green), it seems risky to add a potentially confusing signal for a maneuver that can be lethal if performed at the wrong time.
idiotic waste of tax money
if you drive on a street with traffic lights all you will see is a sea of confusing flashing yellow lights
whichever tax supported government hack that spent tax money on this should be fired and have their cushy government retirement cancelled
A flashing red arrow would have been much better in my opinion.
A flashing yellow light means you don't need to stop, just use caution. A flashing red light means stop, AND LOOK, before proceeding.
Given the purpose of theses lights and their locations, I think the latter would be MUCH more effective at reducing intersection accidents.