Traffic signal expert explains how to count down a yellow light before it turns red
Traffic Light Doctor is a signal tech based in Minnesota. He shares his green-yellow-red tips, tricks, and insights on social media, often while he’s working at a signal box. If you’ve ever wondered how long you’ve got to drive through a yellow light, he just answered.
Each yellow traffic light is timed based on specific intersection factors
Typically, the doc explains, a yellow light is preset to run for a tenth of the posted speed limit. In cases where the speed limit is less than 30 mph, though, you can still expect a three-second yellow light.
In other words, if the posted limit is 40 mph, a traffic signal should hold a yellow for four seconds.
If you’re traveling in a 25 mph zone, you can expect a three-second yellow light before the signal computer switches to red.
“Some intersections may vary,” he warns in the caption, so be sure to follow the general traffic laws involving yellow lights.
In Ohio, according to Maher Law Firm, drivers facing a yellow light should slow down and come to a stop if it’s safe to do so. Otherwise, drivers can proceed with caution through the intersection.
If a traffic light malfunctions, though, and lacks a yellow signal, the tech says to use your noggin. When out of service, the traffic signal should blink red. If it’s doing that, handle it like a stop sign. Let drivers who arrived first go first, and then take turns with opposing traffic to get through the intersection. Even if the light displays green while blinking red, “Stop and then proceed when it is safe to do so,” he explains.
