You face a flashing yellow left-turn arrow. What must you do?
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A.
Wait for a solid green arrow before turning.
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B.
Turn only after coming to a complete stop.
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C.
Yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, then turn. Correct
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D.
Turn is prohibited until the flashing arrow ends.
The answer is "Yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians, then turn."
A flashing yellow arrow permits the turn, but the driver must first yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. Drivers who treat every yellow signal as a demand to stop pick B, applying the flashing red's stop rule to a signal that only asks them to yield.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Wait for a solid green arrow before turning.
The turn is already permitted on a flashing yellow; you do not have to wait. This answer applies the protected-turn rule for a solid green arrow to the flashing yellow.
B. Turn only after coming to a complete stop.
The manual asks for a yield, not a full stop. This answer carries the flashing red stop rule over to a yellow arrow because both flash.
D. Turn is prohibited until the flashing arrow ends.
The flashing yellow arrow permits the turn; it does not prohibit it. This answer reads the yellow color as a general prohibition rather than a permitted-with-yield indication.
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? →
- You approach an intersection with a flashing yellow traffic light. What should you do? →
- A traffic light shows a solid red arrow. What are you permitted to do? →
- What does a solid yellow arrow at a traffic light mean? →
- At an intersection with both arrow signals and circular signals, which movement do the arrow signals control? →
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