Q&A - Yellow Traffic Light Timing
I need to know how long does a yellow light at an intersection have to stay yellow for? I realize that the posted speed has to be taken into account and if there are advanced flashing amber lights.
I was traveling down Dewdney Trunk Road and was going just under the posted 50 km/h limit. As I approached the intersection at 50 feet away the light went yellow.
I went to put the brake on and realized that I would not stop and would be in the intersection as a traffic hazard. I applied the gas pedal but the light went green.
An RCMP 300 feet on the other side coming south. I was going north. He thought he saw me run an amber light deliberately
Not the case.
I went back and timed the light with a stop watch and it changes from yellow to red in less than 2 seconds.
There is no possible way to stop without getting hit by another car.
Comments
Answer
Having browsed a number of sites and documents it would appear that a yellow light should remain on for a minimum of 3 seconds and a maximum of 6 seconds, depending on the design speed of the highway, the grade and the ability of a driver to view the light as they approach it. In BC advance yellow warning signals are installed when the design speed is more than 70 km/h or visibility is limited.
FAQs posted on the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure's web site explain the following:
Are traffic control devices the same across Canada?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a source of these documents on line to refer you to.
Yellow lights
I've done some personal research on the traffic lights in my area. I caught a flash of the red-light camera in my rear view mirror, so I wanted to check whether the yellow seemed short, or was actually short.
I filmed several intersections with my iPhone, making sure I caught the entire cycle of operation:
1 side green - 2 side red, 1 side yellow - 2 side red, 1 side red - 2 side red, 1 side red - 2 side green, 1 side red - 2 side yellow.
What I found with the video editing software (counting frames @ 30fps) is that most lights were close and always over 3 seconds yellow, and 3 seconds red-red (both streets showed red). Greens were longer for the main-street. The light with the red-light camera was 3.0 seconds on the dot, while the two lights preceding both-ways were 3.3-3.6 seconds for yellows
At the end I didn't get that ticket, but it was still fun filming :)