TRAFFIC SIGNALS: THE YELLOW TRAP DANGER

(In countries where cars drive on the left side of the road, interchange the words "right" and "left" throughout the remainder of this article.)

Many new traffic signals have left turn signals. These are very helpful when traffic is heavy, and left turns would not otherwise be possible, due to lack of gaps in opposing traffic to turn through. When traffic is light, however, left turn signals can cause a hidden danger that is called yellow trap, lag trap, or the left-turn trap. Here is a description of yellow trap, and how it causes the danger:

Terminology.

HOW YELLOW TRAP HAPPENS

Permissive turns on green Yellow trap occurs only when all of these conditions are simultaneously met:

  1. Left turns can be made through gaps in traffic during the circular green.
  2. Both circular greens for the same street are displayed together.
  3. One circular green terminates before the other one does.

The left-turning driver with the shortened green expects oncoming traffic to stop.

Permissive turns on green The above sequence of events causes the following events to happen:

  1. A driver wants to turn left from the approach oncoming to the left turn phase.
  2. The turning driver is waiting in the intersection for gaps in oncoming traffic.
  3. The turning driver's circular green changes to circular yellow.
  4. The turning driver can not know that the other approach still has a circular green.
    The signals for the oncoming approach are invisible to this driver.
  5. The light is turning red. The turning driver must clear the intersection by law.
  6. The turning driver expects oncoming traffic to stop for the yellow or red light.
  7. A driver proceeding straight ahead on the other approach still has a circular green.
  8. The oncoming driver expects the left turning driver to yield.
  9. Neither driver knows anything is wrong.
  10. Each driver is obeying the law according to the display given that driver.
  11. A collision occurs.

Neither driver is at fault here. The signals displayed to them caused the accident. At least one court has ruled that both drivers could sue the government due to this type of accident. The yellow trap has long been recognized in signals that repeat the same sequence each cycle. The big problem now is the signal that changes the phase order to meet traffic demand.

Take my Yellow-Trap Quiz to see if you really understand the problem.

ANIMATION OF DOGHOUSE YELLOW TRAP WITH LEAD-LAG PHASING

Original yellow trap

HOW TO AVOID A YELLOW TRAP CRASH

Now, as a driver, what can you do to avoid the trap? Here are some tips:

  1. NEVER wait in an intersection to turn left.
  2. If you find yourself waiting in the intersection when the yellow and red appear, keep waiting for gaps in oncoming traffic.
  3. Report any yellow trap sequence you see happen as a signal failure. You may see a car inexplicably turn in front of you when you have a circular green, or a circular green plus an arrow. You also might see a car with a red light waiting in the intersection to turn through a stream of traffic coming toward it. Also note the location for your future driving reference.
  4. If you see all of these, prepare to avoid a car turning across you:
  5. If you are turning left, and there is a visible detector loop where the first car stops in the left turn lane, stay on it until you can turn.
  6. Realize that devices other than left turn signals can create yellow trap. These include:
  7. If you are turning right, and your signal changes from circular green (or flashing yellow arrow) to a green right-turn arrow, watch for left-turning traffic clearing the intersection.

REMOVING YELLOW TRAP FROM SIGNALS

The real problem is the use of the circular green for the permissive turn indication. Since it also gives a "go" signal to traffic moving straight ahead, it must be ended at the wrong time in the signal cycle to stop the other traffic. Another indication is needed for a permissive left turn.

For the traffic engineer, I propose the following rules:

A new solution has become available. It is the Flashing Yellow Arrows solution. The necessary change in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) has been made with the new 2009 MUTCD. But it requires states to give up their aversions to red arrows.

Here is a visual example of flashing yellow arrows.

Since yellow trap occurs whenever permissive turns are cut off early to give the opposite approach a left turn phase, something can be done about it. Notice that yellow trap from a left-turn sequence cannot occur from a given road (check crossroad left turns separately) where:

  1. There is a Tee intersection, unless a driveway makes a fourth leg.**
  2. Left turn phases do not exist.**
  3. Only one left turn from that road exists.**
  4. All left turns on that road have exclusively protected (3-light) signal faces.
  5. Both left turns are leading, unless all crossroad phases can be skipped together.**
  6. Both left turn signals always act in unison.**
  7. Both circular greens for that road can never be displayed at the same time.**

** Note that yellow trap from special sequences, pre-emption sequences, or right-turn signals can still happen with these arrangements.

The following list gives the remedies for correcting a fixed sequence yellow trap at crossroads. Any one of them will correct the problem (unless it is caused by a right-turn signal):

  1. Change to a leading left turn sequence.
  2. Give both left turns on the road exclusively protected (3-light) left turn signals.
  3. Prohibit the oncoming left turn.
  4. Put up an "ONCOMING TRAFFIC MAY HAVE EXTENDED GREEN" sign (doesn't work very well).
  5. Put up a "NO LEFT TURN ON CIRCULAR YELLOW" sign (doesn't work very well).
  6. Divert left turns away from the intersection.
  7. Use the Flashing Yellow Arrows solution.

Why Flashing Yellow Arrows Work shows an additional reason why yellow trap occurs. Improper implementation of permissive left turns hands the timing of turn movements back and forth between timing rings in the signal controller.

Here is a table of signal types, and the measures necessary to prevent the yellow trap problem at each.

A SNEAKY FORM OF YELLOW TRAP

The sneaky kind of yellow trap is one that happens at a signal with a leading turn sequence and phase skip. When the intersection is busy, nothing goes wrong. But when traffic is light, the following can happen:

  1. No traffic appears on the cross road to call any crossing phase.
  2. One or more cars wait to turn left, triggering the left turn phase detector.
    Or the left turn phase is on recall.
  3. One or more cars approach from the opposite direction to turn left.
  4. A gap appears in straight ahead traffic on the opposite approach.
    Or one straight-ahead phase times out on maximum or fixed time.
  5. The opposite approach gets a circular yellow. The signal does an unusual lagging turn sequence.
  6. The opposite approach car turns left into triggered approach straight ahead traffic, for the same reasons given above.

Clearly, a yellow trap has occurred. This type is more insidious, because it is unexpected. It does not happen very often, and then only under (normally safer) light traffic conditions. Often the officials involved are unaware that it is happening, since it usually happens at night. The above remedies work, but if the first one is followed, or is already in place, then one of the following must be also used to correct the problem. These remedies are more technical than the ones above:

  1. Use the Flashing Yellow Arrows solution. (a, e)
  2. Use Dallas Phasing, if geometry and signal mounts allow. (a, e - but apparently no longer approved)
  3. Lock out calls to the left turn phase while the oncoming circular green is displayed. (b)
  4. Redirect left turn calls to the circular green during the oncoming circular green. This extends the green until they can turn. (b)
  5. Recall one of the crossroad phases to display a green every cycle. (c)
  6. Create a dummy phase to operate concurrently with (or in place of) a crossroad phase. (c) It should have no display, and its timing should be minimal. Connect the left turn phase detectors to its calling detector input.
  7. Connect each left turn detector output to the calling detector input of a cross-street phase in the same timing ring. (c)
  8. Give both approaches on the road exclusively protected (three light) left turn signals (d, e).
  9. Divert one or more left turns away from the intersection. (d)

The above remedies have the following properties (letters in parentheses above).

  1. Lets permissive left turns continue until the opposing thru phase ends.
  2. Prevents left turn phases from acting until crossroad traffic has been served.
  3. Makes an interval of red precede the left turn phase with a crossroad green or all-red interval.
  4. Removes the permissive turns that really cause the problem.
  5. Requires new signal faces.

Many traffic signal controllers have provisions to implement many of these changes

ODD INTERSECTIONS AND PRE-EMPTIONS

Yellow trap can also occur when special sequences other than left turn sequences are programmed into the signal. This can happen only if the sequence can separately terminate circular greens on the same street. Watch sequences for odd geometry, extra legs, pedestrians, and pre-emptions for emergency vehicles, railroads, draw bridges, etc. The cures are:

  1. Make all left turns exclusively protected to remove turns on circular greens.
  2. Provide a short (5 second) all-red period, then redisplay the one circular green.
  3. Divert one or more left turns away from the intersection.
  4. Use the Flashing Yellow Arrows solution.

Layman politicians often make demands that pre-emptions must protect government employees in emergency vehicles from all other traffic. Care must be taken not to put other drivers in danger from yellow trap to please the politicians. The pre-emption should always be treated the same as a lagging left turn phase.

Yellow trap and pre-emptions

SECOND YELLOW TRAP - ANOTHER SNEAKY KIND

Second yellow trap occurs when ANY permissive left turn movement is brought into conflict with the opposing right-turn movement, when that right turn movement is changing from permissive to protected, to overlap a cross-street left-turn movement. Left-turn signals do not even need to be present on the affected street for this to happen.

The following are cures:

  1. Remove the right turn signal. Use a shared face with only circular indications.
  2. Channelize the right turn into its own lane.
  3. Replace the right turn signal with a YIELD sign.
  4. Add a brief clearance and red indication (~5 seconds) to the right turn.

THIRD YELLOW TRAP - YET ANOTHER SNEAKY KIND

Third yellow trap occurs when a permissive left turn movement using a flashing yellow or red arrow is terminated before the oncoming thru phase due to the reservicing of a phase that requires the flashing yellow or red arrow to be delayed until a period after that phase starts.

The following are cures:

  1. Remove the delay from the flashing yellow or red arrow phase.
  2. Prevent the delay from asserting itself if the flashing yellow or red arrow phase is already active.
  3. Force both phases into red before reservicing.

PAGE LINKS

LINKS

  1. All Yellow Trap Links are here:
    YELLOW TRAP INDEX PAGE
  2. Do you understand yellow trap?
  3. Unusual Traffic Problems, Hazards, and Solutions
  4. Two New Approaches to the Problem
  5. Yellow Trap in Bloomington Indiana
  6. HOME