Yield signs have to be the least respected road signs around. Road decorations, the Rodney Dangerfield of road signs. I think too many people have the idea that one doesn’t absolutely have to stop every time, so they don’t stop at all. Something like that.
Personal anectdote: I was bicycling towards a T-intersection that was controlled by a yield sign on the upright. I was on the right crossbar, and I was planning on turning left onto the upright. A pickup was coming up the upright and was indending to turn left. So our paths would cross. He had a yield sign and I had no control, which means I had right of way.
Now I was going down a hill, so I had to use both hands to slow my approach. Which means I couldn’t signal. He pulled out into the intersection while I was going through, but fortunately stopped before we collided. And then had the nerve to complain that I didn’t signal my turn. The thing is, it didn’t matter whether I was going to turn or not, he should have yielded, as in not driven out into the intersection, until I was through it.
They used to be rather rare, but nowadays they’re on all the approaches to roundabouts. But based on all the complaints I read about people failing to yield when entering them, they still don’t give them much respect.
Yield signs were not always red and white here in the US. They used to be yellow with a thin black border. Some time in the 70s (I think), they changed them to match the international version. The Do Not Enter sign was changed at the same time. That used to be just the words “Do Not Enter” on a white rectangle. We also got the signs that have a red slashed circle over another symbol (i.e. No Parking, No Left Turn, etc.) at that time. Those also used to be signs with just words, no symbols.
Even before I started driving, I noticed one yield sign in my city that people always seemed to ignore. As a kid on a bike, I quickly learned to just act like it wasn’t there. At some point the city added another sign below it explaining what it meant. Checking google maps, it’s a stop sign now, but IIRC the sign said something like “This means stop if there are pedestrians or other traffic” or something like that.
When I learned how to drive, and I still believe this to be true, I felt there shouldn’t be uncontrolled intersections or yield signs. Every intersection, IMO, should at the very least have stop signs for one of the roads (in a standard 4 way intersection).
There are a couple of Yield signs on what was my morning commute. i would say they are ignored at least 90% of the time. so much so that when i see someone actually yielding to the oncoming traffic I am shocked.
It’s like they’re invisible anymore. It seems he overton window of “I do what I want-ism” has shifted to the point where now a STOP sign means Yield if you have to and a Yield sign means just plow through and let the other SOB do the yielding.
At one place I commuted to a long time ago, the freeway exit going in had a little side road merging with it. They had a yield sign since there’s cars coming off the freeway and some of us had a short distance to get over to make a right turn.
Regularly ignored. Scary at times.
And yet this is also the area where right turners at a green light sometimes yield to oncoming left turners. With no yield sign or anything about.
The intersection was a T. It has an upright leg and two crossbar approaches.
Maybe, but it depends on how steep the hill is. This one was steep enough that I needed to keep both hands on the brakes. Note that on bikes, the most effective brake is the front one, which is controlled by the same hand you would signal with.
I know a layout exactly like that near the Sonoma County fairgrounds in Santa Rosa for westbound traffic on CA-12. Insufficient yielding and anus-clenching action, for sure.
More than a few locales are replacing (un)controlled intersections with cost-effective traffic circles, where entering vehicles should ALWAYS yield to oncoming traffic. Right.
What gets me is those drivers who treat yield signs as stop signs - especially entering roundabouts , no you don’t have to stop, and you should not stop unless it is in the process to yield right of way.
In the literature and in regulations, the “upright” street is called the terminating street. In California, vehicles on the terminating street are always required to yield to vehicles on the through street, whether there is a sign or not. Guess how many drivers actually know this?
Not legal signals. Besides which, how am I supposed to signal a left turn with my right arm? The legal signal is to extend the left arm straight out. If I do that with my right arm, it will look like the (illegal) signal lots of cyclists (incorrectly) use to signal a right turn.
OK, was unaware of the established terminology. Thanks.
About the same number of cyclists who actually know how to (and do) signal a right turn.
Back in my home state of Wisconsin, they’ve gone all in on replacing traditional intersections which may have previously been four-way stops, or even with traffic lights, with roundabouts.
When I go up there to visit family, I see that a large percentage fo drivers don’t understand (or don’t care to follow) the traffic laws for roundabouts. And, as you note, it’s pretty much just one rule: you yield to traffic that’s oncoming/already in the circle – and, as long as there is still oncoming traffic, you have to keep yielding. Way too many people seem to think that those intersections still function as four-way stops.
Would you use the opposite signals than? A right turn is your arm up (well, out and up). If you signal with your right hand, logically, your arm would be straight out.
Let me check. And it looks like I misspoke about the “through” street. The CVC uses the word “continuing”.
California Vehicle Code (CVC), Section 21800 (b) (1): “When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right, except that the driver of any vehicle on a terminating highway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle on the intersecting continuing highway.” Underlining mine.
Stopping at the intersection can be considered extreme yielding and is, therefore, not exactly wrong. It completely beats playing chicken at the intersection, which is apparently a habit with some people.
My favorite Right of Way (intersection) regulation is CVC Section 22352 (1) (B), which establishes a speed limit of 15 mph when approaching an uncontrolled (no stop or yield signs) intersection where the driver does not have a clear and unobstructed view of the intersection. Nearly nobody knows that one.
Edited to add - CVC regulations only apply to California.
My bad. When forced to choose between safe or legal, one should of course always choose legal.
:smack:
Your sudden concern over legality rings hollow, considering you were actually willing to approach the intersection without signaling your intention to turn at all.
Is it really so hard to imagine anything you could do that would clearly communicate your intentions while allowing you to dedicate your left hand to braking?
Stick your right arm out to the right, bend your elbow 90 degrees so your forearm points up. Congratulations, you are now clearly communicating to other road users your intent to turn left; you have obeyed the spirit of the law, even if not the letter, and your left hand is free to brake as hard as may be needed.
A few problems on the bike side, the bike rider needed to signal their intentions in a traffic situation before performing a maneuver that would bring them into conflict. Right of way does not mean one can do anything. If you can’t signal your intentions safely but can safely continue straight when potential conflict arises you should continue straight or slow down/pull over. Not being able to do your legally required signaling indicates you were at least somewhat not in control of your bike, as you are legally required to signal. Also it sounds like you may not have right of way in the turn itself as you would be required to yield to cars already in the intersection. before starting your turn.
OTOH the truck should give wide birth to the bike, and unless it’s hard to make a left turn for him, he should have made sure either he was ahead of you or turn after you came by.