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Flashing yellow simply means caution. It is meant to draw your attention, but it has no specific legal meaning beyond that. Flashing red is equivalent to a stop

Flashing yellow simply means caution. It is meant to draw your attention, but it has no specific legal meaning beyond that. Flashing red is equivalent to a stop sign: i.e. you must come to a complete stop, but then you may proceed if and when it is safe to do so. EDIT: And for fun, in British Columbia, a flashing green is the same as a solid green except that it usually indicates a pedestrian operated light. I.e. it will always be green unless a pedestrian who wishes to cross pushes a button to activate it. If it is at an intersection, perpendicular traffic generally just gets a stop sign. Moreover, I recently learned that, in Ontario, a flashing green can be used to indicate an advance green. I.e. oncoming traffic is still red, so feel free to turn left.

Smaug123 10y ago
In the UK, flashing amber means "yield to pedestrians at this pedestrian crossing", FWIW.
- goodcanadian 10y ago
  Cool. I travel enough that this is actually worth knowing. In most jurisdictions in North America, you are meant to yield to pedestrians at all crossings. Further, there is an implied crossing at every intersection regardless of whether there are any signs or other markings. If you see a pedestrian standing on a corner, you are supposed to stop for them. Of course, what the law says and what people actually do are not always the same.
  - Smaug123 10y ago
    I suspect I was unclear. A permanent flashing yellow light on top of a pole (not a traffic light) will appear next to a zebra crossing, and it indicates "this is a zebra crossing; pedestrians have priority over traffic". A flashing amber light as part of a traffic light may appear if there is a pedestrian crossing also controlled by lights, and the flashing amber light means "the pedestrians are about to be shown a red light; yield to pedestrians if they are present, but you as a driver are about to receive priority and may in any case proceed if there are no pedestrians". The traffic rules you describe sound… ridiculous. How is one supposed to design a free-flowing intersection if anyone may halt the traffic in any particular part at any time? In the UK, one can almost always find crossings shortly downstream of a roundabout, and pedestrian crossings at traffic lights are controlled by lights.
    - goodcanadian 10y ago
      I guess I may have also been unclear. Pedestrian crossings at traffic lights are controlled by the lights. Otherwise, pedestrians officially have priority.

Smaug123 10y ago

In the UK, flashing amber means "yield to pedestrians at this pedestrian crossing", FWIW.

goodcanadian 10y ago
Cool. I travel enough that this is actually worth knowing. In most jurisdictions in North America, you are meant to yield to pedestrians at all crossings. Further, there is an implied crossing at every intersection regardless of whether there are any signs or other markings. If you see a pedestrian standing on a corner, you are supposed to stop for them. Of course, what the law says and what people actually do are not always the same.
- Smaug123 10y ago
  I suspect I was unclear. A permanent flashing yellow light on top of a pole (not a traffic light) will appear next to a zebra crossing, and it indicates "this is a zebra crossing; pedestrians have priority over traffic". A flashing amber light as part of a traffic light may appear if there is a pedestrian crossing also controlled by lights, and the flashing amber light means "the pedestrians are about to be shown a red light; yield to pedestrians if they are present, but you as a driver are about to receive priority and may in any case proceed if there are no pedestrians". The traffic rules you describe sound… ridiculous. How is one supposed to design a free-flowing intersection if anyone may halt the traffic in any particular part at any time? In the UK, one can almost always find crossings shortly downstream of a roundabout, and pedestrian crossings at traffic lights are controlled by lights.
  - goodcanadian 10y ago
    I guess I may have also been unclear. Pedestrian crossings at traffic lights are controlled by the lights. Otherwise, pedestrians officially have priority.