Which left turn light do I follow in this California intersection?
I have been travelling in California recently, and in a sorta-rural area I came across a confusing left-turn lane traffic light setup.
It seems there is no left-turn light on the overhead pole directly in front of the driver in the left turn lane, but instead on a separate pole on the left corner of the road, to the left of oncoming traffic.
That is bad enough, if you don't notice that separate pole you will think the intersection is unprotected. What's more confusing, though, is that there are two circular traffic lights on the overhead pole directly in front of the driver that can have two different colors. What is this setup, what should I do?
Here are two pictures of the intersection I encountered. The lights were like this down the entire road. Here is the Google Street View.
Confusing left turn signal:
Overhead lights:
Best Answer
Follow the light with the arrow if you're turning left (i.e., the light on the separate pole on the right corner of the road, on the oncoming traffic's right).
In California:
A driver facing a steady red arrow signal shall not enter the intersection to make the movement indicated by the arrow.
It should have the same color as light 1 below (notice the black-and-white arrow sign next to it):
Lights 2 and 3 are for going straight. What a mess ?
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Can you enter intersection to turn left California?
If there is no crosswalk, stop before entering the intersection. You may turn left into a left-moving, one-way street if there is no sign to prohibit the turn. Yield to pedestrians, bicyclists, or other vehicles moving on their green light.Who has the right of way when turning left on a solid green light California?
If you're turning left at a green light, pull out into the intersection but wait to turn left until all oncoming traffic has passed. If you're turning left at a four-way stop or uncontrolled intersection, you should give the right-of-way to any oncoming drivers going straight, even if you got there first.Can you turn left on a red light on a one-way street in California?
Left turns on a red light are legal in California as long as there's no sign prohibiting the turn, but can only be made from a one-way street to another one-way street. You must signal and come to a complete stop before making your turn, and yield to any pedestrians, cyclists, or vehicles moving on their green signal.California DMV - Rules of the Road - Signal Intersections
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Answer 2
They are the same. Obey the non-broken one.
The bulbs are hard-wired in parallel and are driven off the same controller ports. The controller doesn't even know there are 2 signal heads. (Maybe).
As implied, they are there to provide redundancy both for bulb failure and sight lines (truck blocking view of forward one).
If there's only one signal and it fails, it requires an immediate response from maintenance, or traffic will be snarled. Two heads mean "fix it in a day or two". That's the real reason forward has 2 heads.
Those are the best two places to put two left-turn heads.
I say "maybe" because newer controllers can sense current draw changes, and will "phone home" to report a bulb out. Depending on design it may need 1 bulb per port. (This is also a hindrance in LED adoption, ask anyone who tried LED turn signals and had their blinker go crazy or the console report bulbs out).
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Jeremy Bishop, Roberto Nickson, Anand Dandekar, zoe pappas