Work finished today on some signal upgrades. The five-section heads were replaced with four-section heads with flashing yellow arrows for traffic turning from U.S. 411 into Wal-Mart or the shopping center.
For those who haven’t come across these type of signals before, it works as follows:
The signal will display a steady green arrow (meaning turning traffic has right of way), followed by a steady yellow arrow (meaning drivers should not enter the intersection if they can safely stop), and then a steady red arrow (meaning drivers must stop to allow opposing traffic to clear). A flashing yellow arrow will then signify that left turns are permitted after yielding to oncoming traffic and pedestrians.
The flashing yellow arrow is becoming more common in Alabama and across the country. The decision to adopt it on a national level came after the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, launched a large-scale study of left turn controls used across the United States. The study found the flashing yellow arrow was safer, more effective and easier for drivers to understand than the circular green signal that traditionally permits unprotected left turns.
You can view a video below|
