What a flashing yellow arrow means when you're turning left

A flashing yellow arrow means you're allowed to turn left, but you don't have the right of way. You have to yield to oncoming traffic and to anyone in the crosswalk first.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation puts it this way: "Drivers are allowed to turn left after yielding to all oncoming traffic and to any pedestrians in the crosswalk." The detail that trips people up is that oncoming traffic has a green light the whole time the arrow is flashing. You're the one who waits for a gap.

The three arrows

A left-turn signal with a flashing yellow arrow usually cycles through three states:

• Solid green arrow. You have the right of way, and oncoming traffic has a red light.
• Flashing yellow arrow. You may turn after yielding to oncoming cars and pedestrians.
• Solid yellow arrow. The signal is about to turn red. Stop if you can, or finish the turn if you're already legally in the intersection.

Then it goes to a red arrow, which means don't turn.

Why cities switched to it

The older setup used a regular green ball for left turns, which asked drivers to figure out on their own that green didn't mean go freely. The Federal Highway Administration authorized flashing yellow arrows nationwide in December 2009, after extensive testing, MnDOT says. A national study found drivers "had fewer crashes with flashing yellow left-turn arrows than with traditional yield-on-green signal configurations."

The same rule applies at every intersection that uses one: go only when there's a real gap, and watch the crosswalk before you commit.

Sources

• Minnesota Department of Transportation: Flashing yellow arrow traffic signals