Exactly how many cars should be risking life and limb to make a left after the light turns yellow (or red)? (Photo by Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
YELLOW LIGHT PROTOCOLS are a contentious subject in these parts. Every Angeleno seems to abide by their own personal law. At coffee the other day, my pal Adam said, “It’s just one of those L.A. rules, like how three cars can go left on the yellow.” I balked. “It should be two cars max!”
We’re not talking about a protected left with a dedicated arrow. This is the specific L.A. phenomenon of left-turners inching into the intersection while the light is green and then trying to ram through once it turns yellow, typically resulting in at least one or two cars going left on the red.
Professor Eric Shen of USC Viterbi School of Engineering calls those cars (adorably) “the sneakers.” And the goal of traffic engineering, he said, is to account for their behavior, as well as other naughty but common driving tics.
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