A flashing yellow X is lit on a lane-use control light above your lane. Under the manual, what does it mean?
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A.
You may use this lane normally.
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B.
Do not drive in this lane.
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C.
This lane is for left turns only. Correct
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D.
Move out of this lane.
The answer is "This lane is for left turns only."
Lane-use control lights hang above the pavement and tell you which lanes are open right now. A flashing yellow X keeps the lane open, but only as a left-turn lane. Drivers who pick option D are reading the flashing yellow X as a softer form of the steady yellow X (move out of this lane), the way a flashing yellow traffic light softens a steady one; the flashing X changes what the lane is for, not whether you should leave it.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. You may use this lane normally.
That is the green arrow. A flashing yellow X restricts the lane to one movement rather than opening it. This answer carries over the regular flashing yellow traffic light meaning (drive with caution) to the lane-use control light and reads it as general permission.
B. Do not drive in this lane.
That is the steady red X, not the flashing yellow one. A flashing yellow X still keeps the lane open. This answer applies the steady red X's meaning to any X on a lane-use light, treating flashing yellow as an intensified prohibition rather than a permitted movement.
D. Move out of this lane.
That is the steady yellow X. A flashing yellow X does not order you out of the lane. This answer reads the flashing yellow X as a softer form of the steady yellow X, the way a flashing yellow traffic light softens a steady one.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in New York. Source: New York State Driver's Manual, "Traffic Signals - Lane Use Control Lights," p.31..
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