What does a solid yellow arrow at a traffic light mean?
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A.
The arrow will start flashing next.
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B.
Prepare to stop. Correct
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C.
Complete the turn quickly.
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D.
Turns are protected.
The answer is "Prepare to stop."
A solid yellow arrow tells drivers to prepare to stop; the protected movement is ending and the signal is about to change. Drivers who carry the beat-the-yellow instinct over from a solid yellow circular light pick C, treating the arrow as a cue to hurry through the turn before it changes.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. The arrow will start flashing next.
Solid yellow means the arrow phase is ending and the signal is about to change, not that a flashing yellow follows. This answer treats the solid yellow arrow as one step inside a flashing-yellow arrow cycle instead of the wind-down of a protected green.
C. Complete the turn quickly.
The manual tells drivers to prepare to stop, not to speed through the turn. This answer carries the beat-the-yellow instinct from a solid yellow circular light over to the yellow arrow display.
D. Turns are protected.
A yellow arrow is not a protected movement; the green arrow is what signals a protected turn. This answer reads the yellow arrow as an extension of the green arrow's protected phase rather than the end of it.
This question tests your knowledge of Traffic Lights in North Carolina. Source: North Carolina Driver Handbook, "Flashing Yellow Arrow Traffic Signal Heads," p.81..
Related North Carolina questions
- What does a flashing red traffic light mean? →
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