One more thing: If they *must* have "flashing" mode, they should at least get rid of the yellow/red state, and move to red/red. Half the driving public doesn't know what yellow/red means, and it's often useless anyway, because if people on the yellow axis didn't stop to let people in, traffic would be completely halted on the side-street. - Joel Webber

My guess is that a standard timed pattern can cause more disruption by creating an artificial blockage, and when the local DoT cannot control the timing pattern, it falls on a default which basically lets the people at the intersection work it out amongst them selves. - Robert Konigsberg

When I lived in Los Angeles, I always wanted someone from the DoT to come speak at Google Santa Monica about the massive job that is Los Angeles traffic control. /me sad that I never did. - Robert Konigsberg

Well, I can tell you from my experience with Atlanta drivers (IMHO among the worst in the industrialized world) that a flashing light generates unfathomably bad traffic. Besides, our lights are already badly-timed, so it's hard to imagine them getting much worse :) - Joel Webber

Sigh, love traffic. - Robert Konigsberg